Live cattle ban to hit hard, Duncan

Author: Tony Crook
Published on: 08-June-2011

"The ban of live cattle exports to Indonesia announced today by the Gillard Government shows a total lack of understanding of the severe impact it will have on pastoralists in Western Australia," according to Hon Wendy Duncan, Member for the Mining and Pastoral Region.
 
"Although no one could condone the treatment of animals as was seen on 4 Corners, we need to be aware that banning the trade outright and with no notice will have immediate and dire consequences on the incomes of many Australians who have been engaged in a legal and government supported industry."

Ms Duncan said that the ban would affect not only pastoralists but livestock transporters, helicopter pilots, ringers, stock agents and shipping agents to name a few.

"Withdrawing altogether is not going to stop cruelty to animals in Indonesia – in many ways it is like turning a blind eye. Banning live exports from Australia is not going to miraculously stop animal cruelty in Indonesia," said Ms Duncan.

Ms Duncan said that action had to be taken against the abattoirs shown to be mistreating animals, but to ban exports to all abattoirs denies the opportunity to redirect stock from those sites until training and education could be provided to them on the correct process of slaughtering animals.

This ban also disregards the many abattoirs in Indonesia that have been following correct process, and will add to straining relations between them and the cattle industry in Australia.

Ms Duncan said that Australia has been working for twenty to thirty years to improve animal handling and welfare, and it is unreasonable to expect a developing country like Indonesia to achieve the same standards overnight.

"How arrogant and ethnocentric of us, now that we are an educated and affluent country, to pontificate to our near neighbours about how they run their country when their highest priority is quite rightly on the more immediate needs of their people."

Ms Duncan believes that the live cattle export trade is one that needs to be continued for the pastoral industry in the North.

Looking to other solutions, such as exporting chilled meat to Indonesia simply will not be viable due to the lack of refrigeration.

There are no abattoirs in the north of the state, so sending cattle down to Perth introduces more problems of long haul routes, while leaving them on the stations will put pressure on feed availability.

"What option has the government left for pastoralists faced with no income and surplus cattle to dispose of?"

It appears to be a ban which has not been clearly thought through, one that has come from community pressure that gives no regards or consideration to the livelihoods of Australians involved in the pastoral industry.

"It is a decision typical of a government dominated by politicians from Sydney and Melbourne."

"I absolutely do not condone the cruel treatment of animals, but I also do not condone the cruel treatment handed to the many people within the pastoral industry in Australia whose situation has been completely ignored by this heartless and short-sighted decision of the Federal Government."

Ms Duncan will be in Port Hedland and Marble Bar for the next two days to assess the issue first hand.

See this article on the member's website