November 7, 2012

 

 

Australian Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon said that the country could slip behind if it does not move to processed meat exports.

 

Graphic footage of about 21,000 Australian sheep being brutally slaughtered in Pakistan aired on ABC's Four Corners programme on Monday (Nov.5) night.

 

Officials there claimed the slaughter - which resulted in some sheep being buried alive - was necessary due to health concerns. Australian Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon said the report highlighted the need for a change in practice. The live export business was stalling or declining in some sectors while the processed meat industry was growing, she said.

 

"The Australian government needs to get on board and ensure that Australia doesn't slip behind," Rhiannon told reporters on Tuesday (Nov.6) in Sydney. "Because the shift is on to more trade in processed meat."

 

The Greens support a plan by the meat workers' union for a transition to processed meat exports and an end to live exports by 2014. Rhiannon attacked Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig's comments that everything was done by all parties involved to protect the sheep from hardship but it ended in failure.

 

"Ludwig has become increasingly unbelievable in his attempts to defend this industry," she said. "The Greens are ready to speak to all the MPs who are concerned about this but we need to end the live export trade."

 

Grant Courtney, a branch secretary with the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union, said the latest abattoir to close in northern Australia needed 250,000 head a year to remain open in Katherine. He said 500,000 live cattle were exported annually from Darwin.

 

"This should really be a no-brainer for the government," Courtney said.

 

NSW Farmers sheep-meats chair James Jackson has condemned the treatment of the sheep and said he supports investigations by Australian authorities. But he added the livestock trade, which contributes more than US$1 billion to the national economy and provides jobs in rural areas, is "vitally important".

 

"If we stop exporting livestock, not only will our local communities suffer in Australia, but global welfare standards will unquestionably decline," he said in a statement.

 

"We are the only country in the world that actively works in overseas markets to improve animal welfare standards of exported livestock."