Vet Senator slams live ex research

Dehumidifiers on live animal export ships wont work.....no surprise. The Tatura Guardian reports that the study found dehumidifiers reduced temperatures and humidity on an empty ship, but were not good enough to help when vessels were filled with sheep....

Nationals senator and veterinarian, Sam McMahon was scathing "It would seem that for $2 million, that could have involved some actual research with some livestock to answer those questions," she said.

"It's kind of like sailing an empty ship to the Middle East and saying we achieved zero mortalities."

There is also reportedly a four-year $700,000 research project developing animal welfare indicators for live animal exports, due to finish in 2021. Senator McMahon criticised the project, saying two years without a single report wasn't good value for money.

"The information that comes out is not worth a cracker if it doesn't stand up to scientific scrutiny," she said. "If it's not published, then there's nothing to indicate there's any value in what came out of the research."

It may be worthwhile Dr McMahon requesting a full list of MLA funded livestock studies to assess just how many have resulted in peer-reviewed scientific studies.