40 sheep die in UK and the director of animal export company Channel Livestock gets fined and given a suspended prison sentence (6 months) for causing unnecessary suffering to animals. 40 sheep!!

"The 40 sheep that died that day were badly let down by all those responsible for them. They were loaded into a dangerous lorry and trapped their legs causing broken and dislocated bones. When vets examined the flock they discovered many more not fit to travel because they were suffering from painful conditions such as foot rot."

Only 40 die on a shorthaul voyage and they get this penalty in UK. In Australia, exporters get off scot-free for cruelty to much larger numbers of animals on or after long haul voyages (22000 sheep in Pakistan??). If only the same prosecutions were applied in Australia maybe animal welfare in the trade would genuinely improve instead of being empty rhetoric.

As the first shipment of buffalo head off to overseas slaughter in Vietnam, their ship is likened to a cruise-liner! Dean Ryan, commercial manager for South-East Asia Livestock Services is reported as saying “They’re hardy animals; they live in swamps and are used to hard terrain in the bush.Being on a boat, getting fed [and] watered 24/7, with ventilation better than a commercial aircraft, they probably think it’s a cruise liner.

Seems as though Dean forgot to say that buffalos actually are more comfortable in swamps. Even the Australian Standards for Live Export note: "there is no permissible time off water before transport for buffalo. The thicker hide of buffalo prevents them from dissipating body heat as readily as other species. If
animals become agitated during loading or unloading, or are held on stationary transport for an extended period, regular spraying with water to cool them is the best way to prevent stress or reduce stress".

A 500kg buffalo trucked and feedlotted in the wet season and then given 1.28 square metres onboard and deprived of its swamp is not going to feel like its on a cruise liner Dean! Nice try. As for the anthropomorphism....industry tells us we shouldnt listen to the anthropomorphisms of the animal advocates. DOuble standards?

As the Ocean Drover limps its way to the Gulf of Aquaba at 70% speed, sheep appear to be dying rapidly. With a reported mortality of 1.5% approximately 48h ago, Wellard have made a media release indicating that the reportable mortality of 2% has now been exceeded with the ship still not at its destination.

Apparently, a longer than normal voyage duration (due to mechanical issues, which caused the vessel to stop for repairs before proceeding at 70% of its normal speed) and the resultant change in feed after having to take on emergency food have been the main causes of the mortality on board.

So, given the mechanical issues, if it didn't have enough feed to continue after breaking down off Cocos (seemingly on 26-27th Jan), why didn't it turn back to Australia? It seems as though the mandatory extra 7 days of food that the ship should have been carrying was not enough with the slow speed, thus the loading of ?problem food later in the trip.

Many questions to be asked about this voyage...

And yet another long haul voyage disaster!

Bahrain demonstrated last year that the MOU between Australia and Bahrain is not worth the paper it was written on. 22000 sheep paid a bitter price for this disregard and their rejection. Thus, the resumption of live sheep exports to Bahrain is completely inappropriate.

It also makes no economic sense. Exports to Bahrain were suspended in August 2012, and its live shipments were replaced with about 10,000 tonnes of chilled meat. Oh yes, Middle Eastern customers are sophisticated enough to want chilled meat (what a surprise). So, with consumers happy and with Australian jobs disappearing in manufacturing, the transition from live export to a chilled meat trade should more than ever be a priority.

So why go backwards when we are now adding value to our exports and getting better animal welfare outcomes?

VALE can confirm that the Ghena is definitely loading in Fremantle today.  Despite being presented with new evidence of ongoing live export breaches in Jordan, the Department of Agriculture (DAFF) has again approved ESCAS for Livestock Shipping Services (LSS).

LSS has now been implicated in three serious breaches in Jordan, the latest occurring whilst DAFF investigation still in progress.  Penalties...none apparent? Further approvals...no problem! No wonder they dont worry about adhering to ESCAS!!

It’s great to see Andrew Wilkie tackling live export; so far he’s been the only non-Green pollie with the guts to do so. In a recent interview with Beef Central Mr Wilkie took aim at the systemic nature of the problem, and proposes to run another bill to wind up the trade over the next few years.

He’s also planning to take a trip on a live export voyage (if only a short-haul one between Australia and Indonesia), and is even plotting to do it on a ‘typical’ vessel of his choosing so that he’s seeing the real deal. We've offered to furnish Mr Wilkie with some questions to ask the exporters while he's onboard to ensure he is in a good position to assess the conditions on the voyage. Hopefully, this will be of assistance to him.