EMANUEL Exports Director Nicholas Daws has apologised for his company’s role in the latest controversy that’s placed the live exports industry under political pressure.
“The footage televised by 60 Minutes is simply devastating and Emanuel Exports apologises to farmers and the broader community for these absolutely unacceptable outcomes,” he said in response to last night’s broadcast which questioned regulatory standards in failing to protect sheep suffering and deaths due to extreme heat stress on board ships headed to the Middle East.
“Animal welfare failures resulting in high mortalities, like the footage we’ve seen from the August 2017 Awassi Express shipment in which 2400 sheep died, are heartbreaking for our company and the producers whose livestock we export.”
But Mr Daws said over more than seven months since that shipment, Emanuel Exports had consulted closely with Australian government accredited veterinarians and professionally accredited stockpersons who worked on the Awassi Express and other livestock vessels servicing the Arabian Gulf, gaining their first-hand insights.
He said based on their suggestions, the company had taken important practical steps above the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock’s regulatory standards to prevent the extraordinary circumstances of August 2017 reoccurring in the future.
This work has coincided with extensive consultation over the past seven months with the Federal Department of Agriculture and Water Resources as the industry regulator - an important collaboration which has helped secure improved animal welfare outcomes over subsequent voyages, he said.
“We know more needs to be done, which is why our company has instigated with the Department substantial risk mitigation measures to be adopted for the forthcoming 2018 Northern Hemisphere summer.
“It is also why we’ve accepted the special conditions the Department has placed on the Awassi Express shipment which is due to load at the Port of Fremantle this week.
“These conditions include a 17.5 per cent reduction in loading volumes compared to regulatory standards and the presence of a federal government observer on the voyage - in addition to an Australian Government Accredited Veterinarian, as required for all voyages to the Arabian Gulf.
“We have also agreed to employ extra accredited stockpersons for the shipment and to adjust the voyage schedule so that Kuwait will now be the first port of discharge, ahead of Qatar.
“The ship is due to unload approximately 24,000 sheep in Kuwait approximately 14 days after its departure from Fremantle, and will then discharge the remaining 33,000 sheep in Qatar approximately three days later.”
But as political critics circled and demanded the entire live export industry be shut down and replaced with on-shore meat processing, NSW Liberal Democratic Senator David Leyonhjelm warned against that simplistic solution.
He is also a veterinarian.
“Australia exports live sheep and cattle so that people in other countries can afford to eat beef and mutton,” he said.
“These people are typically not as prosperous as Australians and their cultural values and practices are not the same as ours.
“If Australia did not export sheep and cattle to these countries, they would not switch to buying refrigerators stocked with packaged meat from Australia - instead they would buy live animals from other countries.
“However, this would lead to higher prices, meaning more would miss out.”
Senator Leyonhjelm said Australia’s obligation was to ensure livestock was exported “as humanely as possible, consistent with commercial realities”.
“Obviously, the loss of sheep on board from heat stress would be minimised if the transport ships provided air conditioning - however, this would not necessarily reduce overall losses as the sheep would have no opportunity to adjust to the realities of Middle East weather prior to disembarkation,” he said.
“The live export industry goes to enormous lengths to ensure losses are minimised.
“Indeed, there is a strong commercial incentive to minimise losses.
“Sheep are well prepared for the ship journey through feeding, vaccination and medication.
“Any failure in care should be rectified - however, it is important to recognise that high quality care is the norm.
“Australia imposes its animal welfare values on other countries via the ESCAS system.
“This prevents our farmers from exporting sheep to countries that prefer their own values - Saudi Arabia being the main one.
“It would be grossly hypocritical for Australia to refuse to sell our sheep to other countries because we are unable to live up to our own values.”
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