Only months after the introduction of animal welfare standards onboard, the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources confirmed that, as of 1 November, stocking density reductions for sheep would be relaxed by 37.5% from the restrictions put in place in July this year. The RSPCA slammed the decision by the Government.
This decision means it’s back to business as usual for the live sheep trade. It’s a slap in the face for hundreds of thousands of concerned Australians who have contacted politicians over the past few months, and it’s a death sentence for the thousands of animals that will perish on board these ships over the coming year,
… said RSPCA Australia’s Senior Policy Officer Dr. Jed Goodfellow.
Live export shipping in Australia has attracted media attention over the last months, after release of a shocking footage depicting what Australian sheep experience onboard live export vessels. Another footage showed 2,400 sheep dying as the experienced heat stress onboard the livestock carrier ‘Awassi Express’.
On the aftermath and, in a bid to stem public anger after the footage, Australia announced it would require ships carrying live cattle and sheep exports to have an independent observer to ensure welfare standards. Moreover, the government would reduce the number of sheep a vessel can carry during the summer months by 28%.
The country would also introduce new legislation to penalise any exporter that violates these standards. Under the proposal, a director of a company could face 10 years prison or A$2.1 million fine if the welfare standards are not met.
However, the increase now in stocking density will allow exporters to cram three 50 kg sheep into a space that is barely larger than a square metre. At these densities sheep will not be able to lie down at the same time, nor will they be able to easily access feed and water troughs, over a journey of some three to four weeks at sea, Dr Goodfellow explained.
It (The decision) also completely ignores the advice of the Australian Veterinary Association which advised Government that the stocking density reductions introduced in July were “the minimum amount needed to alleviate adverse welfare outcomes and must be implemented across all body weights and all months of the year.
