Support for review
ALRTA supports investigation into live exports regulator
THE Australian Livestock and Rural Transporters Association has backed moves by Minister for Agriculture, David Littleproud, to instigate a comprehensive review of the capabilities, investigative capacity and culture of the Australian independent regulator for live exports and the establishment of a whistle-blower hotline.
Chair of the ALRTA National Animal Welfare Committee, John Beer, said that Australian livestock carriers lead the world in protecting the welfare of live animals during road transport and there is no reason why international shippers shouldn’t be held to equally high standards.
“Caring for live cargos is a necessary part of the rural road transport task that is under constant scrutiny by markets, governments and the community,” Mr Beer said.
“The footage shown on 60 Minutes last month demonstrated that current practices, monitoring, reporting and penalties applicable to live export vessels are not always delivering the animal welfare standards expected by the community and the livestock supply chain.
“While official statistics show that the mortality rate of 3.8 per cent on the particular voyage in question was not typical, this is no excuse and more must be done to make sure similar incidents do not occur in future.
“As a first world nation with modern values and an enforceable rule of law, it is important for Australia to play a leading role in improving live export standards.
“Over 130 countries around the world export livestock, but in establishing the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock and requiring that all exported animals be slaughtered in approved premises, Australia has gone further than any other nation to protect animal welfare.”
Mr Beer said Asian and Middle Eastern markets simply could not afford to substitute live imports with chilled boxed meat, and Australia did not have the capacity to supply it.
“We already have some of the world’s best live exporters operating in Australia, so rather than surrendering the live export trade to less regulated competitors, we must take a hard look at this incident and do what is necessary to lift our standards further,” he said.
“Other nations rely on Australia to supply food to their growing populations and our domestic livestock supply chain benefits from international trade.
“In 2017, Australia exported 2.8 million cattle, sheep and goats valued at $1.4 billion. Independent research has shown that saleyard prices for older sheep would be around 18 per cent lower without an export market.
“Australian livestock carriers are subject to legislated Land Transport Standards. Even so, our National Animal Welfare Committee has scrutinised our role in the supply chain and championed several important animal welfare initiatives.
“We should not back away from this problem and leave it to other countries to resolve. We must identify the root cause of the issue and lead the way by putting the right type of oversight in place as soon as possible.”