The McGowan Government has welcomed the Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council’s (ALEC’s) three-month moratorium on live sheep exports to the Middle East in the northern hemisphere summer.
The moratorium, which has been endorsed by ALEC members, echoes the proposal first put by the McGowan Government in April 2018.
The moratorium will apply to vessels travelling through the Arabian Sea, beyond the latitude of the 11th parallel north, from June 1, 2019.
This decision, alongside the recommendations of the Moss Review and upcoming changes to Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock, will put industry on a more stable footing and shows a real willingness to work to restore public confidence in the live trade.
As noted by Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan:
“It has been well documented that the northern hemisphere summer poses an unacceptable heat stress risk to live sheep coming from the southern hemisphere.
“Our Government strongly argued for a northern summer pause as a way to ensure the industry would not see a repeat of the conditions exposed on 60 Minutes earlier this year.
“Industry rejected the proposal at the time, and to wait this long to make this common-sense decision has put the industry on the back foot.
“However, we welcome that ALEC and the Western Australian Livestock Exporters’ Association are now taking this important step to ensure better animal welfare outcomes and to restore public confidence and community license.
“We are working closely with the WA sheep industry to build more resilience for farmers and the entire supply chain, to ensure this important industry thrives into the future.”
