November 8, 2012

Australia to ban all live exports on brutal slaughtering in Pakistan

The ABC's Four Corners programme which showed thousands of Australian sheep being slaughtered brutally in southern Pakistan has sparked renewed calls for the Australian government to ban all live exports.

Queensland is a big player in the farming and live export industry, supplying nearly 50% of the nation's beef for domestic consumption and export.

Gladstone cattle farmer Councillor Leo Neill-Ballantine has defended live exports, saying the Pakistan cull was an isolated incident and not a reflection of the trade as a whole.

"What people do not realise is that Australia leads the world as far as animal welfare goes," he said. He warned banning live exports would impact on CQ farmers.

"Any live export of cattle will impact producers in the Gladstone region as far as prices go," he said. "If they ban live exports there will be more cattle on the market, which pushes down the price."