60000 sheep due out on the Shuwaikh were thought to have dodged the hell of a ME summer voyage....due to Emanuels Licence suspension. WA Govt found a local buyer....all good ...but Emanuels digging in and looking for someone to take over the licence....and meanwhile the Shuwaikh is in Kwinana.....waiting.


Yep, the Shuwaikh...the ship that would have had its load reduced by 68-92% had the McCarthy recommendations been followed.

Lets hope that no-one else wants to touch the consignment on this ship.

Today almost certainly spells the inevitable end of the long haul sheep trade....at least in summer.....and probably forever. LSS has already pulled out. Now, the main sheep player, Emanuels has had its export licence suspended by the Federal Department of Agriculture and Water Resources. 

Its over. This really goes to show what has always been obvious to veterinary groups such as VALE who objectively analysed shipboard conditions and reports: that following the law to provide good animal welfare is inconsistent with the live export trade. It is simply not commercial to follow the laws....the laws to protect animals...and it never has been.

Well approximately 150000 sheep have been saved a trip from the Australian winter to the extremes of the Middle Eastern summer this year.  LSS has announced that the current arrangements (presumably increased space) are not commercially viable and pulled out.
 
Lets not forget that the Australian Veterinary Association Review recommended this same space allocation across all body weights and all months of the year to prevent adverse animal welfare outcomes. There is no doubt that the "no fear, no pain”  live export industry has essentially traded on animal suffering for 30-40 years because it was too expensive to provide enough space for good animal welfare.
 
But as LSS disappears (no doubt leaving farmers in the lurch), could this be …going….going……????gone????

When all else fails in live ex.....MLA fallback position is how generous and benevolent and important Australia are in their provision of protein  to the world. Somehow, ordinary Australians are expected to believe that LIVE protein is required. Live must be so much more nutritious than chilled/frozen protein....

Come on guys, no-one is believing that one any more. Just look at Indonesia. Poor protein-deprived Indonesia depending on Australia for their nutrition....well except when India started sending frozen buffalo meat at a cheaper price.......OMG protein can be supplied chilled or frozen too.....

Apparently.......according to our agriculture minister....opponents of the live sheep trade need to reflect on their “moral compass”.

Yep, well we've checked ours David...and it seems fine. Yours however is looking pretty damn shabby...and thats whether youre in the city or the bush. You had a review....and you ignored it.....dont give us the old "we must do it or someone else will do it worse argument" ....we may be the worst.....! Australia cant afford to be too sanctimonious ...we were caught out at cricket...now we've been caught out in animal welfare.

Australia watched with hope as David Littleproud stuttered, blustered and appeared to show genuine horror at the animal welfare conditions in the live export trade after 60 Minutes...

He then called a review into heat stress....the McCarthy Review...and ignored its most critical recommendation (a recommendation that was supposed to be implemented by July 2018). Result - absolutely no changes for the animals sailing into the ME this summer apart from a paltry increase in space, an increase the Australian Veterinary Association stated was the minimum to ensure animals could stand up, lie down and reach troughs ie basic animal welfare NOT prevention of heat stress.

He also called a review into Department culture...the Moss Inquiry.....but why bother? He over-rides his Dept when it does something meaningful (which is rare). The Dept of Ag supported AMSA on the removal of the sunset clauses for oldships that no longer comply with current standards by 2019. But David Littleproud  changed the date to 2020....to accommodate exporters such as Emanuel Exports (who have just been given a show cause notice...go figure).

SHEEP WILL SUFFER AND DIE FROM HEAT STRESS THIS MIDDLE EAST SUMMER. Tragically, nothing has changed for the sheep.
So, what has changed? Only this, David Littleproud.... that all Australians know about it now.

Please get behind AMSA and "vote" today. A submission to AMSA on the Marine Orders is quite simple...just go to RSPCA Australia's website: https://rspca.org.au/campaigns/live-animal-export/amsa/take-action

Emanuel Exports may well have been issued a show cause notice....but apparently that doesnt prevent them exporting anyway. On a winters day in Fremantle with a marine gale warning for coastal waters and a RAC Red Alert for high winds to many areas, the show rolls on regardless. The Al Messilah is in Fremantle Port and has started loading autumn-acclimatised sheep for their voyage to the Middle Eastern summer furnaces.

New information in the media today shows that the Govt had no intention of following the most critical of the McCarthy recommendations....namely to change the heat stress risk assessment model to <2% chance of 5% sheep having heat stress.

So the taxpayer foots the bill for review after review all of which essentially indicate the same...that sheep cant be safely transported to the ME summer......

What will it take? Another high mortality voyage this summer perhaps?

The West Australian has confirmed that the Department of Ag has issued the company with a “show-cause” notice — asking Emanuel Exports to justify why it should be allowed to hold an export licence.

The nation’s biggest exporter of sheep apparently faces a criminal investigation after the Federal Department of Agriculture revealed it had opened a fresh probe into a disastrous series of voyages to the Middle East.

Nice to know that the Dept, who has been pretty much missing in action for about 30 years has finally been forced to do something. Lets face it...they saw no need to act at all over past breaches ...and in a virtually unpublicised court case (1), it was shown that the Dept have no legal requirement to act...ever. 

Well ....seems like public outcry has been a more powerful tool than a court case.....!! Keep up the rage....

1. Animals’ Angels e.V. v Secretary, Department of Agriculture [2014] FCA 398, and appeal [2014] FCAFC 173.