The Australian Alliance for Animals has today condemned the Coalition’s policy of reinstating the cruel live sheep export trade should it return to government.
The comments come as opposition leader Peter Dutton visits the Woolorama Show in Western Australia.
Alliance for Animals’ Policy Director Dr Jed Goodfellow said the Coalition’s position would harm animal welfare, export Aussie jobs overseas, and would be resoundingly rejected by the Australian community.
“This would be a retrograde step and would take Australian agriculture backwards,
“The Coalition seems intent on keeping Aussie farming in the dark ages when it comes to animal welfare,
“The last thing the Aussie wool industry wants is for its brand to be tarnished by the international stain that is live sheep exports,
“The Coalition need to see the writing on the wall – the Australian community and international markets want higher standards of animal welfare, and the live sheep trade is incompatible with this,
“Polling commissioned by the RSPCA in 2022 shows that 78% of Australians (including 79% of Western Australians) support a phase out of live sheep exports if farmers are assisted in the process,
“Reinstating the trade after an effective phase out would see Aussie jobs in local processing facilities and further value-adding opportunities exported back to the Middle East,
“Peter Dutton’s stance is ironic given it was the previous Coalition Government that commenced the phase out, with 70% of the trade declining since 2018 due to new regulations introduced under David Littleproud’s watch,
“Despite all of the regulatory reviews in recent years, sheep still suffer heat stress when traversing the equatorial and Middle Eastern climates, and they’re still slaughtered without stunning,
“The Albanese Government’s policy is simply picking up where the Coalition left off but it’s doing so in a way that provides the industry and the community with more certainty,
“Any attempt to continue this cruel trade will not be well received by the majority of Australians, and the level of concern just gets higher with every generation.
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