Showing posts with label animal welfare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animal welfare. Show all posts

Monday 29 October 2018

Morrison Government whittling away at health & safety requirements in live sheep export trade


“Space allocation per animal must be based on allometric principles and increased by at least 30% for sheep that weigh 40 to 60 kg (based on a k-value of 0.033). The typical sheep sent to the Middle East is an adult Merino wether in this weight range. This increase in space (k = 0.033) is the minimum amount needed to alleviate adverse welfare outcomes, and must be implemented across all body weights and all months of the year…. 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.”  [Submission from the Australian Veterinary Association, May 2018]
Between January and September 2018 Australia exported 973,651 live sheep.

The majority of these sheep were exported by sea for slaughter at destination and, the size of each sea shipment ranged from 498 animals up to 68,039 animals.

It is not unusual for sheep deaths on these voyages to number in the hundreds.

Overall sheep mortality for the first 6 months of the year ran at 0.61% as of June 2018

That represents almost 6,000 sheep which died due to the stress of the sea voyage and conditions on board the export vessel from January to June.

One can reasonably expect sheep mortality rates to rise given the Morison Government's recent decision to increase sheep density numbers on board export vessels.

A decision it apparently arrived at after the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources & Nationals MP for Maranoa David Littleproud had announced that the government had accepted all 23 recommendations in the Review of conditions for the export of sheep to the Middle East during the northern summer report.

From 1 November 2018 the floor space per adult sheep will be reduced by 11.5% going into projected November temperatures ranging from 22 to 37 degrees Celsius across Middle Eastern destination ports.

It is worth noting that the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) has not published any analysis of current animal welfare standards in the last 5 years and the version of Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock in operation to date appears to be the 2011 version.

Australian media now report that the Morrison Government is stalling on legislating tougher penalties for exporters who breach live export regulations and, that Nationals MP for New England and disgraced former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce claims that 99.7% of sheep arrive at their export destination in the same or better condition than when they left.

So according to Barnaby only 0.3% of exported sheep suffer a loss of condition.

An interesting claim, given official sheep mortality is calculated at 0.61% of the live cargo being transported.

It seems that some of Barnaby's sheep are miraculously born-again sometime during those sea voyages,

Friday 1 June 2018

This barbaric whale slaughter must end!


Antartic minke whale in Science, Space and Robots blog, 23 April 2014

News.com.au, 30 May 2018:

The Courier-Mail can reveal that 95 per cent of the female whales slaughtered by the Japanese were carrying calves.

Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg has slammed the Japanese whale hunt.

“The Australian Government is deeply disappointed that Japan continues to undertake so-called ‘scientific’ whaling,” he said.

“The Government has made representations at the highest levels to Japan – and will continue to do so…..

Japanese whalers killed 333 minke whales – plus 122 unborn calves – in the Southern Ocean last summer.

“Apparent pregnancy rate of sampled animals was high’’, the Japanese whalers stated in a new report to International Whaling Commission’s scientific committee meeting in Slovenia this month.

“One or two minke whales were sampled randomly from each … school using harpoons with a 30g penthrite grenade.’’

The whalers killed one in every three of the protected marine mammals they spotted.
Eleven whales managed to avoid the harpoons by hiding in water with high-density ice.

Over three months, two Japanese ships equipped with cannons hunted the whales for 12 hours a day – harpooning some whales 10m long.

Commercial whaling was banned more than 30 years ago but Japan continues to hunt by using a loophole to kill whales for “scientific research’’.

The Humane Society International (HSI) blasted the harpooning of pregnant whales as a “truly gruesome and unnecessary’’.

HSI senior program manager Alexia Wellbelove said the “scientific whaling’’ was a front for the meat trade, as the whales were taken back to Japan for human and pet food.

“The killing of 122 pregnant whales is a shocking statistic and sad indictment on the cruelty of Japan’s whale hunt,’’ she said yesterday.

Ms Wellbelove called on State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to use her trade visit to Japan this week to lobby its government to stop whaling.

“They claim it’s necessary to understand whale biology but that information can be obtained through a biopsy,’’ Ms Wellbelove said.

“The whales often get used for pet food.’’

The IWC report, written by employees of the Institution of Cetacean Research in Tokyo, the Kyodo Senpaku fishing company and Tokyo University, says the whales were killed to obtain data on the “age, sexual maturity and body length of the whales’’.

The Japanese analysed the stomach content to “estimate prey consumption’’ and measured blubber thickness to “study the nutritional condition’’ of the dead whales.

Minke whale surfaces through Antartic ice, vms.edu photo set

Wednesday 23 May 2018

Private members bill banning live sheep exports before the Australian Parliament - it needs your support


Sky News, Sunday 20 May 2018:

Greens MP Adam Bandt has told Sky News there may be the numbers in federal parliament to pass a private members bill that will ban live sheep exports. Liberal backbencher Sussan Ley will introduce a private members bill to parliament next week that, if passed, would see the live sheep export trade phased out. 

The bill has the support of three Liberal MPs, Labor and the Greens. Mr Bandt says there’s a 'real prospect' the bill could pass the parliament within the next month.

ABC News, Monday 21 May 2018:

Support for shutting down the live sheep export trade is gaining ground, with Labor set to formally endorse the proposal this week.

Liberal MP Sussan Ley will today introduce a private member's bill that would ban live sheep exports to the Middle East during the northern hemisphere summer months in 2019 and entirely close the sector down in five years.

"This has been a trade marked by disaster following debacle and that's gone on for 33 years, it's had a very sad history, a very dismal history," she said.

Shadow Agriculture Minister Joel Fitzgibbon told AM Labor will lock in its support for what will be known as the Live Sheep Long Haul Export Prohibition Bill.

"I will certainly be recommending to both the shadow cabinet and to the party room this week that we support the bill," he told AM.

"I have no doubt that the bill reflects the view of the broader Labor Party and on that basis I'm very confident that the party room will embrace the bill."

Labor's support drastically increases Ms Ley's chances of securing the numbers to debate the bill in the House of Representatives.

She already has the backing of Liberal colleagues Sarah Henderson and Jason Wood, and believes the numbers will increase.

"I've had conversations with two or three that … are very supportive. I will leave it up to them about when they talk about their support and to what degree they might get behind this bill," she said.

But her hopes of securing Ian Goodenough's support, who indicated an interest in the bill, have fallen through.

"After considering all the factors I have decided to initially back the Government position on the McCarthy Review to implement a series of changes," he said.

Live Sheep Long Haul Export Prohibition Bill 2018, Explanatory Memorandum, excerpt:

OUTLINE

The Live Sheep Long Haul Export Prohibition Bill 2018 amends the Export Control Act 1982, the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997 and the Export Control Act 2018. The Bill introduces provisions which will restrict the long haul export of live sheep and lambs during the northern summer months of July, August or September in a five year transitional period, or at any time after that period, where the voyage is by ship and of duration exceeding ten days, and where a place in that voyage, regardless of whether that place is the final destination, is either the Persian Gulf or the Red Sea.

It is expected Prime Minister and Liberal MP for Wentworth Malcolm Bligh Turnbull and Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals MP for Riverina Michael McCormack will use their numbers to quash this bill.

With the bill joining the Live Animal Export (Slaughter) Prohibition Bill 2011 (Adam Bandt MP), Live Animal Export (Slaughter) Prohibition Bill 2011 [No. 2] (Senator Rachael Seiwert) and Live Animal Export Restriction and Prohibition Bill 2011 (Andrew Wilkie MP) in the Australian parliamentary achives.

Unless.....

Enough ordinary Australian citizens contact their federal members of parliament this week by email and tell them they will lose their vote at the forthcoming federal election if the MP doesn't vote in support of this bill.

There are currently 150 members of the House of Representatives and 76 senators so get cracking,


Friday 13 April 2018

No wonder I don’t buy Japanese goods – including those now 100% Japanese-owned well-known Australian brands



The Strait Times, 31 March 2018:

This undated file picture released on February 7, 2008, by the Australian Customs Services shows a mother whale and her calf being dragged on board a Japanese ship after being harpooned in Antarctic waters .PHOTO: AFP

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese whaling vessels returned to port on Saturday (March 31) after catching more than 300 of the mammals in the Antarctic Ocean without facing any protests by anti-whaling groups, officials said.

A fleet of five whalers set sail for the Southern Ocean in November, as Tokyo pursues its "research whaling" in defiance of global criticism….

The fleet caught 333 minke whales as planned without any interruption by anti-whaling campaigners, the Fisheries Agency said in a statement…..

Japan is a signatory to the International Whaling Commission moratorium on hunting, but exploits a loophole that allows whales to be killed for scientific research.

Tokyo says the slaughter is necessary for in-depth knowledge of whale behaviour and biology, but it makes no secret of the fact that whales killed in the hunts often end up on dinner plates.

Thursday 12 April 2018

Ultimately allowing live animal exports and cruelty to livestock is the responsibility of the Australian general public and we should not turn away from our part in this trade


It would appear that live animal exporters are still ignoring the health and well-being of livestock.

Take Emanuel Exports Pty Limited, first incorporated in Western Australia in 1955..... 



ABC News, 9 March 2018:   

A scandal-plagued live export ship slated to take 65,000 sheep to the Middle East has failed to satisfy an inspection and must provide evidence of improvements before maritime officials will allow it to set sail with livestock on board.

The concerns relate to airflow in pens where sheep will travel.

Inspectors from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) spent hours inspecting the Awassi Express after it docked in Fremantle, Western Australia, on Sunday.

"AMSA has advised the master and ship operator that they will have to arrange a third party air flow verification report to prove compliance with air flow standards before an Australian Certificate for the Carriage of Livestock can be issued," an AMSA statement reads.

To carry livestock, a ship must have a certificate for the carriage of livestock.

The inspected ship, used by Emanuel Exports, is the same vessel linked to 2,400 sheep deaths during a voyage to the Middle East last August.

The Department of Agriculture investigated that incident but scandal erupted after footage of the sheep surfaced, reportedly showing livestock being mistreated.
The vision, broadcast on Channel Nine on Sunday night, showed hundreds of sheep crowded into a small space, workers throwing dead sheep overboard, and faeces-covered pens where animals stood panting or collapsed on the ground.

It remains unclear what will happen to the sheep and 250 cattle Emanuel Exports plans to send to Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar in the coming days.
Emanuel Exports was also responsible for a July 2016 consignment, in which an estimated 3,000 sheep died from heat stress during a voyage to the Middle East….

Governments and farming bodies will react after the event when particular instances of animal cruelty or poor shipping conditions make the news. However such reaction frequently makes a claim that the incident in question is a 'one-off' occurrence.

There appears to be a general lack of will to address the fundamental failure of the live export industry to protect livestock from harm or to turn and face the fact that live export in itself is a cruel practice.

Responsibility for animal welfare lies in the last instance with the Australian general public and it will not be until tens of thousands of everyday citizens pick up the phone or write/email federal ministers, MPs and senators that the public's voice will begin outweigh the political influence of farmer-grazier lobby groups.

Contact details for all members of the federal parliament be found at List of Senators - (PDF 163KB) and List of Members - (PDF 145KB)   if readers want to have their say on the subject of live animal export.    

BACKGROUND

ABC News, 5 February 2017:

WA's largest live exporting company, Emanuel Exports, is back in court today to defend itself against charges of animal cruelty brought against it under the state's Animal Welfare Act. The case harks back to 2003 when he animal rights group, Animals Australia, won a Supreme Court order which forced the state to investigate alleged breaches of the Act during a shipment of 100,000 sheep on the Al Kuwait in November of that year. The livestock industry and animal rights groups say the outcome could set a precedent for the future of live exports. Natacha Hammond spoke with Tim D'Arcy from the Pastoralists and Graziers Association who has been at the opening morning of the case.

8 February 2008, DLGD v Emanuel Exports judgement.

beefcentral.com, 1 March 2012:

The export licence of one of Western Australia’s oldest livestock exporters, International Livestock Exports, the South East Asian export arm of Emanuel Exports, could be under threat as a result of footage released by Animals Australia this week.

The footage, showing mistreatment of cattle inside Indonesian abattoirs, aired on ABC Lateline on Tuesday.

ILE is believed to be the exporter responsible for at least one of the animals shown in the footage.

The Federal Government’s Export Supply Chain Accreditation System, introduced to improve animal welfare standards in the wake of televised footage of cruelty in Indonesian abattoirs last year, places the onus of responsibility for the welfare of all exported animals through until the point of slaughter on exporters.

Penalties for breaches of the ESCAS include conditions being placed on licenses, or the suspension or cancellation of a licence.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry is currently investigating the footage supplied by Animals Australia last Friday, and will decide on penalties if it confirms that an Australian exporter has breached the ESCAS rules.

Emanuel Exports director Mike Stanton told Beef Central this afternoon that the company has suspended the operations of one abattoir within its accredited supply chain in Indonesia whilst the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry investigation is underway…..

Saturday 7 April 2018

Tweet of the Week



Wednesday 21 February 2018

Speak Up for Battery Hens Before It's Too Late: NSW Government taking submissions on Model Code of Practice for Poultry until 26 February 2018



AAP MediaNet Release:

15 Feb 2018 4:00 AM AEST - Australians Urged to Speak up for Battery Hens Before it's too Late

15 February, 2018

Australians Urged to Speak up for Battery Hens Before it's too Late

Australians are being encouraged take part in a once-in-a-generation opportunity to help end the cruel use of battery hen cages by making a submission to the poultry code review.

With polls indicating 84% of Australians believe that battery cages should be banned, it's alarming that 11 million hens still suffer in cages in Australia today.

Deemed cruel and unacceptable in many other countries including Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the entire European Union, Australia is now lagging behind the rest of the world by continuing to allow the use of battery hen cages.

The reasons to act now and make a submission to the poultry review are clear. Battery hens in Australia are permanently locked in small cages, denied the freedom to walk around and stretch their wings for their entire life. Furthermore, scientists estimate that four in five caged hens suffer from crippling osteoporosis due to the conditions they are forced to live in.

Setting the standard for the treatment of farmed birds, the review of the Model Code of Practice for Poultry is now open for public consultation. But the process hasn't been without scandal, with documents acquired under the Freedom of Information Act indicating collusion between the egg industry and the NSW Government to ensure battery cages remain in use.

With industry interests dominating the agenda, now is the time for the public to raise their voices for animal welfare standards to reflect community expectations.

"This is the first time in 17 years that the laws that allow cage egg farming have come under review. Currently, more than 90,000 Australians have made a submission through the Animals Australia website, which is staggering. It's already the biggest response to a public consultation for farmed animals that Australia has ever seen. This demonstrates the depth of concern in the community about this issue," said Animals Australia's Campaign Director Lisa Chalk.

The expectations of the community have changed significantly within the last decade, with many consumers already voting with their wallets. Most Australians no longer buy cage eggs and while major companies such as Woolworths, Aldi, McDonald's, Subway, Hungry Jack's, Arnott's, Nestle and Heinz are removing cage eggs from their supply chains, cage egg corporations are still permitted to operate in Australia.

Cage egg farming in Australia is dominated by three multi-million dollar corporations whose combined annual revenue is over half a billion dollars. They can well afford the 2.5 cents per egg it would cost to give hens a better life.

With support for cage egg farming waning, some egg producers are now looking to export cage eggs overseas. A legal ban on battery cages would ensure Australian hens aren't condemned to suffer in cages to lay eggs for other countries. 
    
"Australian Governments like to project the nation as a world leader on animal welfare but in reality, Australia is lagging well behind other developed nations, particularly in failing to acknowledge the unacceptable cruelty caused by battery hen cages," said Lisa Chalk.

"What we have before us is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure a better life for millions of animals."

The poultry code review provides a rare opportunity to secure a legal ban on the cruel and archaic battery hen cage. Running until February 26, the public consultation process enables everyone in the community to join well-known Australians - Judith Lucy, Mick Molloy, Sam Pang and Lehmo - to be part of history in the making and help free hens from cages.

Submissions take only a minute and can be made by visiting AnimalsAustralia.org before February 26th.

Video and images are available for download at:

Submissions can be made via email or post. 

Please email submissions to publicconspoultry@animalhealthaustralia.com.au 

Or 

Post submissions to: Animal Welfare Standards Public Consultation PO Box 5116 Braddon ACT 2612


Monday 5 February 2018

Who can provide Coco with a permanent loving home?


What's not to love about this happy face?
"Coco" is a 10 month-old female Dalmatian-cross dog.

She has been the only dog in the household and has been rendered homeless because of the difficulty associated with keeping a dog in rented accommodation.

At the moment she is temporarily housed in the Lower Clarence Valley on the NSW North Coast and is desperately in need of a permanent home.


Thursday 25 January 2018

In the face of Turnbull Government inaction & legal restraints on Sea Shepherd the Government of Japan signals intention to continue whale slaughter in Southern Ocean


The Guardian, 23 January 2018:



Japan is to defy Australia and other nations with plans to replace its whaling fleet’s ageing mother ship, showing its determination to continue its annual expeditions to the Southern Ocean.
The country’s fisheries agency is planning to replace the 30-year-old Nisshin Maru with either a new ship or a refitted one bought overseas, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun.
The newspaper quoted agency officials as saying that a new mother ship was needed to haul whales on board to be butchered during Japan’s controversial “research” hunts in the Antarctic.
Whaling officials have also said they needed a faster ship to evade anti-whaling activists. The marine conservation group Sea Shepherd recently said it was abandoning its pursuit of Japan’s whalers in the Southern Ocean, but has not ruled out a resumption of its campaign.
The group has clashed with the Japanese whaling fleet several times since it started obstructing the vessels in 2005.
The introduction of a new mother ship is expected to anger anti-whaling nations, as it signals Japan’s determination to continue slaughtering hundreds of whales in the Antarctic every winter.

Thursday 4 January 2018

A reminder that the Government of Japan still allows its whalers to slaughter whales in the Antarctic section of the Australian Whale Sanctuary


Australian Whale Sanctuary, www.environment.gov.au
In 2015 Environmental Defenders Office ( EDO NSW) received instructions from Sea Shepherd Australia to help them obtain information from the Commonwealth Government relating to illegal whaling practices by Japanese vessels in the Southern Ocean

The resulting application was refused by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, requiring EDO NSW to press their client’s case with the Commonwealth Information Commissioner. 

In May 2017, the Information Commissioner ordered the release of the documents and this video was made public in the following November.

Saturday 9 December 2017

Tweet of the Week - HEATBREAK WARNING




* The size of this dead elephant indicates that it is likely it was a very young adult when it was shot.

Sunday 1 October 2017

With no-one left to police the Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean this might be the last year we see him


Migaloo sighted off the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, on 16 September 2017 as he journeys southward to Antarctic waters.

Thursday 6 April 2017

Japan's government sanctioned whale killers returned to home port in March 2017



ABS-CBN, 31 March 2017:

TOKYO - Japan's whaling fleet returned on Friday from its months-long Antarctic hunt in the name of scientific research with a take of more than 300 minke whales, a hunt that prompted complaints from Australia.

The International Court of Justice ruled in 2014 that Japan should halt Antarctic whaling and Japan suspended its hunt for one season to re-tool its whaling programme, including measures such as cutting the number of whales and species targeted.

It resumed hunting in the 2015-2016 season.

The final ships of the five-vessel whaling fleet returned to the southwestern port of Shimonoseki, having achieved their goal of 333 minke whales, the Fisheries Agency said…..

Japan intends to take nearly 4,000 whales over the next 12 years as part of its research program and has repeatedly said its ultimate goal is the resumption of commercial whaling.

Shimonoseki, a major whaling port, is in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's electoral district.

Japan, which has long maintained that most whale species are not endangered and that eating whale is part of its culture, began what it calls "scientific whaling" in 1987, a year after an international whaling moratorium took effect.

The meat ends up on store shelves, even though most Japanese no longer eat it.

Japan has shrugged off repeated international protests, including those from key ally the United States. In January, Australia said it was "deeply disappointed" that Japan had continued its hunt, just days after Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had discussed it with Abe.

Anyone wishing to politely make their views on Japanese whaling in the South Ocean/Antarctica known to the Government of Japan can do so with these contact details:

PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
1-6-1 Nagata-cho
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8968 JAPAN
Tel: +81-3-5253-2111
E-mail form: https://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/forms/comment_ssl.html
Website: http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/index-e.html
Public Relations Fax: +81-3-3581-3883

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida
Foreign Affairs online comment page:

MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry And Fisheries Hiroshi Moriyama
1-2-1 Ksumigaseki
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8907 JAPAN
Tel:+81-3-3502-8111
Fax: +81-3-3502-0794
E-mail form: https://www.contact.maff.go.jp/maff/form/114e.html
Website: http://www.maff.go.jp/e/index.html

EMBASSY OF JAPAN IN AUSTRALIA

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Australia Sumio Kusaka
Embassy of Japan in Australia
112 Empire Circuit, Yarralumla
Canberra A.C.T.2600
 Australia.
Tel:(61-2)6273-3244
Fax:(61-2)6273-1848
http://www.au.emb-japan.go.jp/

Anyone wishing to shop ethically might like to consider avoiding goods/products from:

Nippon Meat Packers Australia (NMPA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Meat Packers, Inc., a Japanese publicly listed company and a leader in the Japanese fresh meat, ham, sausage, and processed foods industries. Brands are: OAKEY ANGUS RESERVE, OAKEY RESERVE, CPB GRAIN FED, BORTHWICKS AUSTRALIA PREMIUM BEEF, WINGHAM BEEF EXPORTS, WINGHAM RESERVE, OAKEY ABATTOIR'S "BLUE" BRAND, OAKEY ABATTOIR'S, "OLIVE" BRAND, WINGHAM GOLD.

Lion Nathan National Foods a wholly owned subsidiary of Kirin Holdings Company Limited, a Japanese corporation specialising in beer, wine and dairy products. Brands are: XXXX GOLD, TOOHEYS NEW, JAMES BOAG’S PREMIUM, WITHER HILLS CHARDONNAY, ST HALLETT FAITH SHIRAZ, DAIRY FARMERS, YOPLAIT, COON, BERRI, DARE, FARMERS UNION, PURA, BIB M, MOOVE, TASMANIAN HERITAGE, KING ISLAND DAIRY.
 
Schweppes Australia a wholly owned subsidiary of Asahi Group Holdings Ltd of Japan. Brands: SCHWEPPES BRAND SOFT DRINKS & MIXERS, SOLO, SPRING VALLEY, COTTEE'S CORDIALS, COOL RIDGE SPRING WATER, EXTRA JUICY, POP TOPS, GLO, FRANTELLE, PEPSI, MOUNTAIN DEW (under licence), GATORADE (under licence).

Independent Distillers a subsidiary owned by Asahi Group Holdings of Japan. Brands: ASAHAI BEER, WOODSTOCK BOURBON, WOODSTOCK BOURBON & COLA, PULSE, HIGHLAND SCOTCH WHISKY, RED BEER, CS COWBOY, VODKA MUDSHAKE, VODKA CRUISER, CRUISER BLACK, CRUISER FREE, CRUISER APPARELLA, LADY LUCK, EVERGLADES, TWISTEE SHOTS, HUMMINGBIRD BLONDE LAGER,KINGKISHER BEER, BALTIKA BEER, HAAGEN PREMUIM MALT.