The MLA is giving itself and the cruel live export industry a pat on the back.
According to its figures, for 2007, 99.9% of cattle and 99.2% of sheep exported arrived alive at their destination after “being well looked after”.
I would like to see what they define as being well looked after, considering the animals have spent weeks at sea. I would also think it would be safe to say that they were probably kept confined to their cage, and give no exercise during the trip.
Then there are the appalling conditions that the sheep and cattle are forced into when they get to the importing country. These animals are slaughtered in ways and means that are illegal in this country. Below is video footage of an Animals Australia investigation in September of this year (2007) of the way that Australian sheep are treated when they reach the middle east.
This just goes to show that the MLA doesn’t give two hoots about the sheep or Australian industry.
If they were they would push for the animals to be slaughtered here. Not only is there no valid reason for humans to be consuming animals in the first place, there is no reason why these sheep and cattle have to be exported live from Australia. There are halal and kosher certified slaughterhouses that regularly slaughter animals and export them to the Middle East.
This contradicts the following comment also by the MLA. “The Australian livestock export industry is one that Australians should be proud of. It is a caring, humane and devoted industry that places itself under continued scrutiny in order to be transparent and open and maintain its standing as the best in the world.”
I suppose they are right, the industry is caring, to the extent where it starts to effect profits, humane to the extent of creating more profits, and totally devoted to increasing profits for the MLA and the industry itself. No rational person would say that any part of farming is humane, and I do not know of anyone outside of the exporters themselves and politicians who are proud of this industry.
For more information about the MLA read the relevant articles.
The figures stated by the MLA above are in stark contradiction to those obtained by Animals Australia through FOI request to AQIS.
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/media/foi/
As has been mentioned in other articles, the MLA is not interested in the welfare of animals or even the welfare of the Australian public for that matter. Their sole purpose is to increase demand and increase market access to red meat. Anywhere else in the corporate world, this would be a conflict of interest. Yet when it comes to the MLA or the Australian Dairy Association no one gives it a second thought.
Certain organisations even promote the propaganda as fact when it clearly biased and misleading advertising.
This article was written by the founder of VeganPolice.com.au, Cameron Blewett.
Cameron is a long term vegan (30+yrs), and is passionate about veganism, and helping people to understand more about it and giving other animals equal consideration.
You can find Cameron’s other rants on his website, CameronBlewett.blog