Shock: Sheep sold for food slaughtered

Animals Australia must be cranky.  They released footage of some sheep being mistreated in Jordan and the Agriculture Minister isn’t going to shut down the sheep export industry. All those farmers, families, workers, transport infrastructure, sales agents and others involved in the industry still have a job – not what Animals Australia wants at all.  They want the entire cattle and sheep industry closed but the difference this time is, we have adults in charge.  Unlike when the ALP simply closed down the live cattle export based on a similar video, ruining thousands of jobs and killing Australia’s reputation as a reliable, dependable trading partner, this time the Minister talks reason. Barnaby Joyce says;

“We’re going to have issues such as these which are disturbing, which need to be fixed, but it shouldn’t be the reason we shut down the industry.”

Further, Mr Joyce told a conference of beef and sheep producers and exporters in Townsville this morning that an animal welfare supervisor set up by the former government to monitor the humane treatment of live exports would be dismissed on the basis that the position was an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy. Mr Joyce says his department will take over the task of implementing government policy on live exports, including the operation of the Export Supply Chain Assurance Scheme (ESCAS), previously overseen by the Inspector-General of Animal Welfare. Rational rather that emotive. I imagine Animals Australia will have ample opportunities to make similar videos in the future for as long as we sell to the Middle East, the chances of any civilized treatment of animals remains remote. However, while we have a government prepared to say “Yeah – whatever” then we can go about our business of feeding people.