Another very well considered letter – from\u00a0a vet:<\/p>\n
LIVE CATTLE EXPORT \u2013 THE BIG PICTURE<\/span><\/p>\n The issues surrounding Australian live cattle export and appalling cruelty to cattle in some Indonesian slaughterhouses have been very disturbing to all Australians.<\/p>\n \u00a0As a veterinarian with animal welfare, meat processing and exotic disease experience, with no vested interest in the live export trade, I feel it\u2019s time to look at these issues objectively and for all stake holders to appreciate the big picture.\u00a0<\/p>\n The consequences of banning this trade will have far-reaching effects in Australia and Indonesia for many years and we must be mindful of the animal welfare and bio-security implications this ban imposes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Background:<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n Beef consumption in Indonesia has been increasing rapidly in recent years and, until the live export ban, Australia was supplying approximately 25-30% of this demand via the export of more than 500,000 head annually.\u00a0 The majority of beef consumed in Indonesia is sourced from their dwindling herd of local cattle.\u00a0<\/p>\n Indonesia is still a developing nation with little refrigeration, consequently most consumers source their fresh meat from wet markets daily. To satisfy this need and the religious and cultural requirements of the country, it is necessary for Indonesia to import live cattle.<\/p>\n The northern Australian pastoral industry has provided ideal cattle for this trade for many years, and, up to the point of slaughter, is both humane and efficient.\u00a0 However, the processing of some of these cattle in Indonesia has been shown to be inhumane.\u00a0<\/p>\n There has never been a better catalyst to address the slaughterhouse cruelty in Indonesia than the recent Four Corners program.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Animal Welfare Issues:<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to understand that the recent images of atrocious cruelty shown in Indonesian slaughterhouses are not representative of the manner in which the majority of Australian animals are processed. \u00a0It is also important to understand that there are no welfare issues associated with the transportation process of Australian cattle to Indonesia in purpose built ships or with the production of cattle up to the point of export.<\/p>\n The overriding issue, surely, is the cruelty to all<\/span> cattle, not just Australian cattle, \u00a0\u00a0slaughtered in some <\/span>abattoirs in Indonesia.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a civilized and compassionate society, we have a duty of care to the welfare of all cattle processed in Indonesia.\u00a0 The RSPCA is a member of the World Society for the Protection of Animals.\u00a0 They support WSPA on global animal welfare issues and international campaigns.\u00a0 In targeting the Australian live export trade to Indonesia, they have singled out the wrong industry and, together with Animals Australia, have effectively shut down this important trade.\u00a0 In conjunction with WSPA, their aims should be the protection of and prevention of cruelty to all animals slaughtered in Indonesia.\u00a0 Their energy and resources should be directed to this end.\u00a0<\/p>\n The banning of live cattle export from Australia will not solve these welfare issues; they will, in fact, be exacerbated, as the void created in the beef market will be supplied by countries that don\u2019t share our commitment to welfare.\u00a0 Australia is the only country with the capacity and the will to make a difference, by providing technology and training for abattoir facilities and personnel.\u00a0 Contrary to popular belief, Australia has already made significant improvements to welfare standards.\u00a0 The job is far from finished, but we must not withdraw completely or the cruelty in slaughterhouses will continue unabated ad infinitum.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n Now that live exports have ceased, will Animals Australia and the RSPCA act to ameliorate the continuing cruelty perpetrated on local and imported cattle, or will it be a case of out of sight out of mind?\u00a0 They have known about these slaughterhouse welfare issues for years.\u00a0 Are we so parochial as to be concerned only with the welfare of our own cattle?\u00a0 This would be discrimination at its worst.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bio-security Issues:<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n Currently, Australia and Indonesia enjoy freedom from one of the most devastating exotic diseases, foot and mouth disease (FMD).\u00a0 Freedom from this disease is vital to the welfare of livestock, including cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, camels, buffalo and deer.\u00a0 FMD is a viral disease causing painful vesicular lesions on the mouth, tongue and hooves of susceptible animals, resulting in inappetence and severe lameness.\u00a0 If FMD is introduced into Indonesia and Australia, we would witness an animal welfare issue of unimaginable proportions, resulting in the slaughter and disposal of millions of animals.\u00a0 The feral pig, goat and buffalo population would act as a reservoir for the disease and it would be impossible to eradicate.\u00a0 The suffering and economic damage would be inestimable.\u00a0<\/p>\n Australia takes this issue very seriously and, in recent years, has spent $22million to help ensure Indonesia\u2019s freedom from FMD.\u00a0 (In fact, so seriously does Australia treat this issue that, with an estimated loss of $8-13 billion of GDP, more than $0.5 billion has been allocated to prepare for and manage an outbreak of FMD.)\u00a0 Indonesia, our closest neighbour 700km away, acts as a vital buffer zone between Australia and other South-east Asian countries where FMD is endemic.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n If Australia does not supply Indonesia with live cattle, the Indonesian demand for beef will be met by countries such as South America, Mexico, India or neighbouring South-east Asian countries where FMD is prevalent. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The risk of exotic disease to Australia is very much diminished if Indonesia sources live cattle from a proven FMD free country such as Australia. For this reason alone it is imperative that we maintain the trade.\u00a0<\/p>\n Conclusion:<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n The total banning of live cattle exports is a classic example of a political knee-jerk reaction by the Minister for Agriculture in order to appease the opponents of the live export industry.\u00a0 It is an over-reaction and is completely unnecessary and unjustified.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is having a devastating social and economic impact on the northern Australian pastoral industry and on the welfare of cattle with limited access to markets.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n An independent assessment and accreditation of the supply chain, including an ID traceability mechanism, is essential to give certainty to animal welfare issues.<\/p>\n There are sufficient Indonesian abattoirs that comply with welfare standards to immediately process approximately 45% of Australian cattle available for slaughter. \u00a0These must not be unfairly penalized and must be allowed to continue processing our cattle without delay.<\/p>\n The Australian Government has put our close and important trading neighbour of 240 million people in an invidious position, as sourcing their shortfall of 500,000 head of suitable cattle will be extremely difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is vital for animal welfare, bio-security and the national economy that this trade continues.<\/p>\n The political fallout will be great, our risk of exotic disease will be enhanced, and there will be no hope of improving the parlous state of animal welfare in Indonesia if the ban on Australia\u2019s live export trade to Indonesia is not lifted.”\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0Richard Thallon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Another very well considered letter – from\u00a0a vet: LIVE CATTLE EXPORT \u2013 THE BIG PICTURE The issues surrounding Australian live cattle export and appalling cruelty to cattle in some Indonesian slaughterhouses have been very disturbing to all Australians. \u00a0As a veterinarian with animal welfare, meat processing and exotic disease experience, with no vested interest in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,7],"tags":[158],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1575"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1575"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1578,"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1575\/revisions\/1578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fionalake.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}