Cattle bans to be extended
A week after the Four Corners expose, the government is set to announce further bans that sees trade restricted to just 10 abattoirs in Indonesia.
- Published by David Knox
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A week after the Four Corners expose on live cattle exports shocked the nation, the government is set to announce further bans that sees trade restricted to just 10 abattoirs in Indonesia.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports permits would be issued only for cattle sent to 10 abattoirs – those deemed class A facilities that use modern restraining boxes and stunning to render cattle unconscious before it is killed.
Also amongst the changes are that animal welfare officers be placed permanently at abattoirs, a strict accreditation regime for Indonesian feedlots and the introduction ”as soon as practicable” of an electronic monitoring system of cattle.
The restrictions are expected to severely hit the $300m livestock industry hard.
Another 15Â abattoirs, deemed class B facilities, may be credited after an independent assessment, assistance to improve their restraint boxes and encouragement to adopt stun guns.
Electronic tagging would also be introduced, giving the cattle a barcode. Feedlots and abattoirs would swipe the ear tags through readers to track the cattle from the farm to the abbatoir.
A complete ban is still a possibility, after a ban to 12 abattoirs announced on Friday, has been panned as unenforceable and inadequate. Australian cattle is slaughtered at more than 100 abattoirs in Indonesia.
The Four Corners report by Sarah Ferguson last week lit up talkback radio and online forums with outrage over the treatment of cattle, including from politicians.
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13 Responses
i think youre all a bunch of morons. A rogue unregistered abattoir which does not directly buy Australian beef off the ships has shut down a $300 million industry. …. how about instead of a knee jerk tree hugging hippee reaction we think about it for a second…. , and keep selling the beef to businesses in Indonesia who meet Australian slaughter standards. Which are most of them !!!
Kirby Smith
North Queensland Cattle Grazier
Seriously!!!!!! why the hell would I care about how my delicious meat gets killed. It’s just a goddam cow, I really don’t care how animals that are used for food get killed, and frankly I’m starting to get real sick of people putting animals before human lives, people……..I think it’s time for all of you to grow up.
Also if another country Buys products off us, which in this case is cattle,then that country can do/has the right to do with the cattle with whatever they damn well please, they payed top dollars for it, so it is their property!!!!!!
Like anyone who saw Four Corners last week i want live exports to be banned but the reality is that it will not be. Anything which should be banned cigaretes, live exports, most prescription drugs and gambling is highly unlikely to be banned. Instead it is regulated. It is regulated because it makes the government money from levies and charges. The only ones who can do something on this issue are the farmers, at somepoint they will have say enough is enough, when that is i dont know.
@steveany: with ya 100%
I finally watched the 4 corners report today and it made me feel sick to my stomach! I value our cows much more highly than the scum killing them!!
Response from Government way too slow. They are feeling their way and seeing media, focus group reaction. A capable Minister would take taken action the following day
Banning live export won’t help anything, animals from other countries will still have horrible deaths. Making sure they bring facilities up to scratch is a much better solution.
“animal welfare is more important than profit.” …
do you realize the end result of all this is being served on a dinner plate?
i think you will find there are good people and a**holes in any country. banning all exports to a certain country is moronic, as there are undoubtedly facilities in any country where people take out their frustrations on defenseless animals.
you need to target the people (and abbattoirs) that are doing it, not the industry in general, so the govt has it right.
and i’m sure the people saying they don’t care how much it costs the industry are people who Won’t be losing their jobs if the industry collapses. talk is cheap in that situation.
i agree there should be a complete ban on live cattle exports i saw the ad on tv last night and it was very upsetting
A good interim result but I also wonder where things will be in three month’s time when this is well and truly old news and off the front page. The conditions of live export to other countries should also be investigated, especially sheep to the middle east.
I agree with Jake, they looked like they were enjoying being cruel to the cattle. I don’t care how much it costs the Australian cattle industry, animal welfare is more important than profit.
I say totally ban live export to this and other backward countries. These people will never learn. They will continue to torture these aniamals regardless of training. I believe they enjoy it……
I really hope that this four corners episode achieves its outcomes,not after a short while when our backs are turned revert back to their former ways.