Agriculture Minister David Littleproud

The government has rejected evidence of the animal welfare impacts of live sheep exports to the Middle East in warmer months in favour of an “independent” report by a former consultant to one of the worst violators of current rules — and despite admitting the Department of Agriculture lied to it.

In early May, the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) took the unusual step of calling for the cessation of all live export of sheep to the Middle East during warmer months in the wake of horrific footage aired by 60 Minutes that forced the government to call a review into the industry. 

Irrespective of stocking density, thermoregulatory physiology indicates that sheep on live export voyages to the Middle East during May to October will remain susceptible to heat stress and die due to the expected extreme climatic conditions during this time. Accordingly, voyages carrying live sheep to the Middle East during May to October cannot be recommended.

Today, Nationals MP and Agriculture Minister David Littleproud instead accepted the government-commissioned report by Mike McCarthy,a vet with extensive experience in the live export industry, including consulting for Emanuel Exports — the most egregious violator of animal welfare standards in the industry. (McCarthy’s report can be found here, but at the time of writing, the Department of Agriculture’s site was failing to load, again).

McCarthy ignored the AVA’s conclusion — in fact, his report fails to mention it at all — and recommended decreased stocking density as the means to address heat stress, in addition to observers on every voyage. Reduced stocking density is only a solution for vessels in cooler months, the AVA said, noting that a 30% reduction in density was “the minimum amount needed to alleviate adverse welfare outcomes, and must be implemented across all body weights and all months of the year.”

The problem with live exports has been that sheep “must have access to food and water on demand and enough space to lie down” under existing regulations that the Department of Agriculture has steadfastly refused to bother enforcing for many years, with companies like Emanuel Exports frequently being found in breach of requirements without any adverse action from the Department.

In the five weeks since 60 Minutes revealed sickening footage of the conditions of sheep on board Emanuel Export’s Awassi Express, a number of other vessels have been permitted by the department to load and depart despite the arrival of the warmer months. Littleproud said in his media release this morning “the independent regulator [the Department] tells me it will progressively implement the McCarthy recommendations subject to further work on the heat stress risk management recommendations” but later admits “the Independent Regulator’s report to me on the Awassi voyage last year did not paint a true picture of what occurred on that voyage”.

That is, the Department of Agriculture, which has refused to enforce its own regulations, misled its own minister, but he’s happy to accept its blithe assurance that it will now change the way it has operated for several years and start “progressively” enforcing animal welfare rules. The department’s response to McCarthy’s report fails to mention that it misled its own minister.

Crikey said weeks ago that nothing would be done to end the horror of live sheep exports. That’s exactly what has transpired. The horror will continue.