Vets Against Live Export
  • Home
  • IO reports
  • High-mortality voyages
  • Media
  • Gov correspondence
  • Scientific & legal
  • Live export Brazil
  • Blog
  • Newsletter
  • Join
  • About
    • In-depth

Joe Blow public can actually assess sheep welfare - new study

29/5/2015

1 Comment

 
A study by Murdoch University on behavioural responses of sheep during short-term transport showed that sheep exhibit a range of behavioural expression in response to land transport which can be assessed by naive (untrained) observers. Previous studies have showed that behavioural differences reflected changes typically associated with stress.

Now, this study was only performed early in transport so conclusions cannot be drawn for long transport, sea transport etc. But what it does show, is that normal untrained people have the ability to accurately assess animal welfare. So all those silly "townies" who get distressed watching sheep trucks rolling into Fremantle Port with crushed sheep, legs hanging out everywhere, distorted awkward body positions may have a point after all....! What a surprise.....

Reference Collins T. Behavioural responses of sheep during short term transport. Proceedings of the AVA Annual Conference, Perth 2014, pp21-24
1 Comment

Only healthy animals are loaded?

29/5/2015

1 Comment

 
Just for some relief from slaughter and ESCAS, worth pointing out the folllowing from the "Management of sheep during shipping and the role of vets" [Proceedings of Australian Sheep Veterinarians 2013]:
"Pink eye typically affects 5-15% of a consignment but sheep adapt well. Despite this, it is a welfare issue and it is difficult to implement practical treatment."

One wonders exactly how "adapting well" to a "welfare issue" is judged.....think last time you had anything in your eye....hardly life threatening but very debilitating....and you werent standing in 0.3 square metres, breathing in ammonia, possibly in high wet bulb temperatures not to mention standing upright on a heaving ship.
1 Comment

Export beef vs export cattle: an erudite response

26/5/2015

0 Comments

 
In his opinion piece in Beef Central, Dr Malcolm Caulfield explains why both the government and the industry should be looking to the beef industry and not to the live export industry.....$$ for Australia, welfare for animals, reputation of Aussie farmers.

A "must-read" for any intelligent Australian!
0 Comments

Short sight vs short-term memory loss?

25/5/2015

0 Comments

 
"It was a crazy decision, probably the most short-sighted blunder in Australian foreign policy in recent memory".....Prime Minister Abbott on the Indonesian trade suspension.

Lets just think about that one Tony....Most of can come up with a few major foreign policy blunders in recent years.... spying on the Indonesians, for example, which threatened more than just the LE trade. However, its pretty hard to go past one of the most significant short-sighted foreign policy blunders Australia has ever made....the decision by Howard's Liberal Government to invade Iraq for the "weapons of mass destruction" that werent there....something that set Iraq up for a civil war and also for increased global terrorism under IS (all predicted prior to the invasion). This terrible blunder has had enormous consequences for those in our armed forces, Iraqi civilians, the whole of Syria and probably most of the world for decades to come. Bit more significant than a temporarily grumpy Indonesia and a few sad farmers dont you think? Is there some short-term memory loss here?
0 Comments

Q: When does an assurance scheme not give assurance?

20/5/2015

0 Comments

 
A: when it is ESCAS!

So, ho hum, here we are, again, in another country (again), with yet more evidence that ESCAS doesnt work......and what do we do? We continue to work with ESCAS. And the public are expected to be satisfied with that?
0 Comments

Vietnam: gangbusters, mythbusters, cattle busters

20/5/2015

5 Comments

 
So, the story unfolds.....as mentioned in a previous blog, it was amazing how quickly gangbusters turned mythbusters in Vietnam....and yep, prediction correct, independent footage inevitably followed. Well if ALEC could get footage, it wasnt going to be too hard for Animals Australia to get footage also. Wonder if the Dept of Ag is enjoying the viewing that is too graphic for the Australian public....ie bashing Australian cattle to death in tinpot Vietnamese abattoirs.
Vietnam is leaking like a sieve in all directions - has been for ages. Leaking (haemorrhaging?) locally, and into other countries (Cambodia, China etc). The exporters and the farmers know the rules. The rules have been broken. Australian cattle are suffering......extreme measures are necessary. Local cattle prices are good, northern cattle are being trucked south at the moment...and we are at the start of the dry season. Export to Vietnam must stop till this is fixed....period.
5 Comments

NZ farmers oppose LE - reputation more important!

12/5/2015

0 Comments

 
What a contrast to Australia: New Zealand's reputation is too important to allow the export of live sheep for slaughter, say NZ farming industry leaders.

Would be nice to think they were squeaky clean but thats perhaps not entirely the case. The NZ government have been accused of a dodgy deal with a previous Saudi Live Exporter.
From 1989 until 2003, Al Khalaf exported about five million live sheep for slaughter into the Middle East from New Zealand, until the practice was stopped after 4000 sheep died aboard the Cormo Express. He has now apparently been compensated to the tune of $6 mill. No wonder the NZ farmers are outraged....they support the decision not to export live but, quite rightly, are not very happy when a Saudi millionaire, at the very heart of their ban (and financial hardship at the time) gets a nice compo payout. But then.....any rational Australian would know the same thing....there is only one clear winner in LE and that is the exporters!!!
0 Comments

Chilled meat a no-brainer

12/5/2015

0 Comments

 
Forget the emotions, forget even for a moment, the animal welfare issues and just check out this link and look at the economics...chilled meat export is definitely a no-brainer and should always be the aim.


0 Comments

Voyage 51 - disappeared without a trace?

11/5/2015

2 Comments

 
Check the DA reports for high mortality voyages....what happened to Report 51? Well its pretty clear which voyage this was: the Ocean Drover engine debacle in Jan-Feb 2014 (fits right in time-wise between Reports 50 and 52). Wellard self-reported the incident in media releases....so what's the delay in the investigation report? Is it DA inefficiency (possibly - could explain why when one clicks on Report 53 PDF,  Report 54 PDF is downloaded instead!)? Or is it something unpalatable which industry and DA hope can just be slipped under the carpet without notice? No chance....we are continuing to watch and wait!
2 Comments

Weve got it wrong - they dont get heat stress at all!

11/5/2015

2 Comments

 
Real Aussie Farmers have explained that the comment "HEAT STRESS IS CONSTANTLY CLAIMING THE LIVES OF ANIMALS ON LIVE EXPORT VESSELS AS THEY CROSS HEMISPHERES ENROUTE TO THEIR DESTINATION PORTS" is just a myth, Myth Number 3 to be precise!

Very nice to know that all the work by the industry has been done on a nonsense topic. All those MLA reports clearly rubbish. The Heat stress Risk Assessment for voyages is probably unnecessary and clearly both industry and DA vets keep getting it wrong.  As for the scientific papers on the topic.....obviously fatally flawed peer review processes.

So, why do those animals pant when the temperature gets a bit hot and sticky?  It's obviously just the excitement of being on a nice cruise with their mates. And sometimes the excitement is just all too much for them.....must have been a great party on the Bader when over 4000 died on an afternoon .....of excitement.
2 Comments
<<Previous

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

    Categories

    All
    Alternatives To Live Export
    Problems With The System

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • IO reports
  • High-mortality voyages
  • Media
  • Gov correspondence
  • Scientific & legal
  • Live export Brazil
  • Blog
  • Newsletter
  • Join
  • About
    • In-depth