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The recent Middle East Network for Animal Welfare (MENAW) Conference has called on governments and civil society in the region to play their part in ending animal cruelty associated with the long distance transport of animals for slaughter.
A series of recommendations, including working towards alternatives for long distance transport of live animals and improving animal protection laws, was adopted by a majority vote at the Cairo conference in December 2007.
The conference also recommended the implementation of humane methods of animal control as recognised by international animal welfare principles, and for religious authorities to promote and encourage animal welfare through sermons and other religious teaching.
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Australia’s much touted live export standards are nothing to be proud of and cannot be effectively enforced under current arrangements, according to a new report by RSPCA Australia.
RSPCA Australia has released a critique of an industry report comparing the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock to overseas standards. The analysis exposes the report as failing to identify several serious flaws in the Standards and offering no support for industry assertions of best practice.
For more information, including a copy of the report, visit the RSPCA Australia website
For details of the report please click here
In December 2007, following a review of the live export trade, the New Zealand Government toughened regulations governing the live export of animals for slaughter.
The export of livestock (sheep, cattle, deer and goats) for slaughter will now be prohibited unless the risks to New Zealand’s reputation as a responsible exporter can be adequately managed.
“The review addressed concerns about the treatment and handling of livestock, and slaughter practices in importing countries. It also looked at the potential impact on New Zealand’s reputation as a responsible exporter of agricultural products,” Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton said. “It concluded that improvements were needed to manage the risks of potential ill-treatment of animals and any economic consequences that might result from that.”
To download the New Zealand Government’s media release, Guide to exporting live animals, and other related documents please click here
February 8 - In a major development in the campaign against live exports, a Perth Magistrate’s Court this afternoon ruled that Australia’s live export industry was cruel.
Magistrate Catherine Crawford was ruling on cruelty charges brought against the Directors of Emmanuel Exports Pty Ltd, the largest live sheep export company in Western Australia.
Despite finding evidence of cruelty and suffering, Magistrate Crawford was forced to acquit the defendants on a technicality, citing conflicting state and federal legislation.
Were it not for inconsistencies between Commonwealth and State legislation one of Australia’s leading live export companies would have been convicted of animal cruelty.
“In effect, this means the export permits being signed by Mr Rudd’s government give a green light to committing animal cruelty and breaching local animal protection legislation,” said Handle with Care spokesperson Dr Hugh Wirth.
“So this no longer animal protection groups acknowledging live export is cruel; it is the determination of a respected magistrate based on the facts presented to her during an eight day trial.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that live export is an appallingly cruel trade and will no longer be tolerated by the Australian community.”
Dr. Mohamed Sayed Tantawy, the Grand Sheikh of one of the most respected Islamic Universities in the world, the Al Ahzar University in Cairo, has issued an important legal opinion (fatwa) about the long distance transportation of animals and slaughter.
The fatwa states about the transportation and slaughter of animals: “We hereby say that the call of Islam is to be lenient with the animal and to treat it with mercy, among which is transporting the animal” and “The Islamic law has made it a must that the animal would be treated at the time of its slaughter with lenience and by the means that guarantee treating it with mercy.”
Dr. Mohamed Sayed Tantawy’s opinion was prompted by a question from the Egyptian Society of Animal Friends (ESAF), a WSPA member society in Egypt, describing the suffering animals are forced to endure during long journeys and the torture they undergo in slaughterhouses all over the Middle East.
His opinion, if followed by those involved in this trade, could save the lives of thousands of sheep and cattle that die every year as a result of cruel long journeys from Australia and Brazil to several Middle Eastern countries.
WSPA International’s Long distance transport Programmes Manager, Sofia Parente, said: “Unfortunately the shortage of animals and the tradition of slaughtering animals locally during religious festivities in the Middle East have resulted in an increasing number of animals being transported into the region. The Handle with Care Coalition, spearheaded by WSPA, has always maintained that transporting animals long distances and slaughtering them under cruel conditions does not serve any religious purpose, and we are happy to say that this view is now supported by one of the most influential Islamic scholars in the world.”
The Handle with Care coalition’s first public forum to show the harsh realities of Australia’s live export trade was delivered to a full house recently.
The audience at RSPCA Victoria, which included representatives from NFF and the live export industry, was addressed by chair Dr Hugh Wirth, President of RSPCA Victoria, Chairman of WSPA Australia & New Zealand and spokesperson for the Handle with Care coalition in Australia.
Video footage of appalling treatment of Australian sheep in importing countries such as Egypt, Oman and Bahrain was shown, prompting an emotional response from many in the audience. Sadly, this footage represents a small selection from hours of similar footage collected as recently as December 2007. One member of the public described the treatment of Australian sheep as “just disgraceful”.
“We are very pleased with the attendance,” Dr Wirth said, “and it shows how concerned people are with the live export trade.
“As the world’s largest exporter of sheep for slaughter, Australia is a major player in a trade which inflicts suffering on millions of animals every year. The support of the Australian public is vital in ending this terrible trade, which continues to tarnish our country’s otherwise good reputation for animal welfare.”
In 2007 alone, more than 3.7 million Australian sheep endured grueling journeys to the Middle East. Over 35 000 of these animals died on the trip.
During the journey from Australia to the Middle East, heat stress and diseases such as scabby mouth, pink eye and salmonellosis are common and result in the deaths of tens of thousands of sheep every year.
For sheep that survive the trip, a much crueller fate awaits them in the hands of countries that have no or unenforced animal welfare laws.
Despite Australian industry claims that it is helping improve welfare standards in the Middle East, it is common for sheep to be horrendously handled and slaughtered in ways that would neither be legal nor tolerated within Australia.
“There is no need for this cruel and unnecessary trade, as countries across the Middle East already accept Halal-certified meat from sheep more humanely transported and slaughtered in Australia,” Dr Wirth said. “We urge the Australian government to end the live export of sheep to the Middle East, and work to expand the existing trade in chilled and frozen meat.”
The forum is part of a campaign by the Handle with Care coalition, an international alliance of animal protection groups calling for governments worldwide to end the long distance transport of animals for slaughter.
Dresden —The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) has been banned from showing footage of the cruel reality of the long distance transport of live animals for slaughter at The Animal Transportation Association’s (AATA) 34th Annual Conference in Dresden next week. This has happened despite WSPA being full members presenting factual and timely research.
WSPA submitted the footage as part of its proposed exhibit to AATA three months ago yet only received notification a week ago that it had been reviewed and rejected by the Program Committee, the AATA-Elect and the President as they do not feel it is an accurate portrayal of the industry.
WSPA’s Sofia Parente said: “This amounts to censorship. We are not one of the animal rights groups planning to demonstrate outside of the conference. We are participant members of this association and a UN-affiliated animal welfare organization working with rather than against governments, transporters and organizations like AATA to improve the lives of billions of farm animals.”
She added: “We are not pointing the finger at AATA but urging them to work with us to encourage the industry to adopt and promote best practice so that the accurate and appalling images revealed in our film become consigned to history.”
The footage forms part of the WSPA-led Handle with Care coalition’s campaign to stop the long distance transport of live animals for slaughter. Another important contribution of the coalition is the publication next week of the book Long Distance Transport and Welfare of Farm Animals – the largest and most comprehensive academic reference on the subject of long distance transport of animals for slaughter worldwide.
The Handle with Care coalition is represented in Australia by WSPA Australia, RSPCA Australia, Compassion in World Farming and Animals Australia.
The coalition also includes internationally recognized organizations such as RSPCA, Dierenbescherming (Dutch SPA), Dyrenes Beskyttelse (Danish SPA), World Horse Welfare, Humane Society International, Born Free USA and Eurogroup for Animals.
The AATA conference will take place at the Westin Bellevue Hotel, Dresden, from 18-21 May 2008. Initial reception and exhibits from 6pm Sunday.
AATA is based in Houston, Texas and its main members are from the United States.
Long Distance Transport and Welfare of Farm Animals – the book that provides the scientific basis of the Handle with Care campaign – was launched at the 76th General Session of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) in Paris.
The largest and most comprehensive academic reference text on the long distance transport of animals for slaughter was presented to almost 100 of the world’s Chief Veterinary Officers in a reception on 26 May 2008.
The reception was also attended by nearly 250 delegates of the general session, including the OIE Director General and Deputy Director General.
The following day, Peter Davies, Director General of WSPA, addressed the OIE general session and highlighted the Handle with Care coalition’s global transport campaign.
Click here to purchase a copy of Long Distance Transport and Welfare of Farm Animals
The Spanish company with the worst record for breaking transport regulations, Mazas, is no longer transporting horses after authorisation for five of its vehicles was withdrawn and ten others were stopped and fined by the authorities.
The company was found to be transporting too many animals per vehicle, running trucks without single stalls and failing to make required rest stops. These conditions cause intense distress for transported horses, which then face slaughter at the journey’s end.
A victory for Handle with Care
The fines resulted from recent national legislation that penalises animal transporters who fail to comply with EU regulations; legislation that came into effect after sustained pressure from Asociación Nacional para la Defensa de los Animales (ANDA) and the Handle with Care coalition.
Campaigning by ANDA and Handle with Care has also seen improvements in other transport companies, such as trucks being fitted with single stalls.
However, the main areas of non-compliance remain stocking vehicles too densely, keeping faulty journey logs with unrealistic journey times and failing to stop for rest after the statutory 24 hours.
To verify this, ANDA recently collaborated with Animals Angels to check two trucks carrying horses bound for Italy. In one, the journey log included a stop that, when questioned, both the driver and the company headquarters admitted he did not intend to make. In the other, the journey log was unrealistic.
These cases were reported to the authorities responsible for the enforcement of transport regulations in Spain, who have a positive relationship with Animals Angels and ANDA.
Fighting cruelty through the law
The Handle with Care coalition calls for the enforcement of EU transport regulations on the Spain–Italy horse export route, which if properly applied will render the live transport uneconomical.
If EU regulations on maximum stocking densities were respected, up to 19 horses would be carried in a standard truck; currently companies are forcing 21 horses into vehicles, causing unnecessary suffering.
The coalition will continue to work with national and EU authorities to improve the enforcement of existing regulations.
Making an impact
Following their placement of a Handle with Care advert in a Spanish magazine, ANDA has been invited to make a presentation at a public forum attended by hundreds of large farmers and businesses organised by the Regional Agriculture Authorities in Zamora, Spain.
A recent nationwide survey of 1500 Australians has shown a staggering 73 per cent of people thought the best way to transport meat for human consumption overseas is as chilled meat.
The same number agreed that
And after viewing video evidence of the treatment of Australian sheep in the
It is heartening to learn so many Australians - in the city and country - have had enough of the extreme suffering inflicted on our animals for the sake of profits. Cruelty like cramped conditions for weeks at sea, extreme temperatures and appalling handling and slaughter techniques once in the
Adelaide is the latest city to play host to a series of public forums highlighting why Australia live export of sheep to the Middle East is cruel and should be replaced by a trade in chilled and frozen meat.
The WSPA-led Handle with Care campaign’s third forum was held recently in conjunction with RSPCA South Australia. A full house heard first-hand about the serious animal welfare consequences of Australia’s live export trade, with audience members including representatives from the farming community, animal welfarists, industry and the local Member of State Parliament Dr Duncan McFetridge MP.
The audience were presented with information on Australia’s live export trade and video evidence of the treatment of Australian animals in importing Middle East countries. A healthy and robust discussion followed the presentation with all sides having an opportunity to air their concerns and opinions. There was general consensus that chilled meat is the way of the future and that live exports will eventually have to end.
“Many people called on Dr McFetridge to highlight the steps the Government will take to phase out live exports,” said Handle with Care spokesperson and WSPA Programs manager Emily Reeves. “Dr McFetridge agreed that the treatment of Australian animals seen in the video footage could not be condoned.”
Dr McFetridge went on to state that “we (the Government) are trying to ban this by phasing it out – that’s policy.”
Similar strong statements against live export were aired by farmer Vivien Clark-Ferraino from Rosebank South Australia, “As a sheep farmer I know full well how sheep suffer when placed under stress whether it be from improper handling and transportation or ignorant farming and lack of awareness of the animal as a sentient being. Apart from the animal welfare issues during sea transportation, any animal subjected to the perils and stress of a long sea voyage will not present as good meat anyway. We need to look at our meat marketing system. The farmer is certainly not making the money, it’s the middlemen.’’
And from Queensland forum in July, Allen Hunter from Figtree Pocket, said “I thought the forum was an excellent idea to raise awareness of this issue. It was very well conducted, although harrowing to be made aware of what is happening. Regarding the actuality of live export for slaughter, I was appaled to see the treatment these animals receive, and this is going on everyday. The suffering needlessly inflicted on them is heartbreaking. I want it to stop. Now!”
Those unable to attend forums but would like to participate can do so via upcoming online forums. A lively online forum with WSPA Campaigns Manager Emily Reeves was held last week, go to http://www.tangler.com/forum/stop-live-export/topic/50387 for the full transcript.
The Handle With Care team will let you know about the next online action.
The European Commission has publicly responded to the WSPA-led Handle with Care coalition’s demands for better enforcement of existing EU legislation on animal transportation and – in the longer term – a complete end to long distance transport.
Animals transported across Europe to slaughter suffer from hunger, thirst, exhaustion and injuries caused by overcrowding and long journeys. While the EU has good legislation setting out the conditions for live transport, all too often these are not enforced, with grim consequences for the animals.
With chilled and frozen meats – slaughtered humanely close to the point of rearing – widely available, this cruelty is not even necessary to deliver fresh meat to consumers.
Watch our award winning film on animal transportation >>
Welcome recognition
In the letter, the Commission said it had received many e-mails and letters from animal welfare supporters and that it "shares your views concerning the need for better application of the animal transport legislation and is working intensively on the improvement of animal welfare during transport, dedicating considerable efforts to this issue."
The letter continued: "The Commission believes that the present time limits are not fully in line with scientific knowledge and are also inconsistent with the social legislation applicable to drivers, making the overall implementation of transport times difficult.“
To read more of the scientific research behind Handle with Care’s campaign, please read our summary report >>
Actions speak loudest
The letter’s final piece of good news was that "the Commission considers the revision of travelling times and stocking densities a priority."
Given this, we expect to see concrete action taken by the European Commission before the end of its mandate next May, specifically in limiting transport times for horses (and possibly other animals) intended for slaughter.
This call is supported by a comprehensive scientific report recently released by World Horse Welfare. The report provides evidence of poor horse welfare resulting from long distance journeys from Romania, Poland and other Eastern European countries to Italy, where they can be slaughtered and the meat misleadingly labelled as ‘Italian horsemeat’.
Find out more
The Handle with Care website provides information, news and ways to get involved in campaigning against this cruel and unnecessary form of animal cruelty.
This week European Union Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou stated that it is her aim to better protect the health and welfare of animals transported long distances by ensuring enforcement of EU legislation.
Speaking at the handover of 152,557 signatures – collected by the Handle with Care coalition, headed by WSPA – the Commissioner said she shares the view of the petitioners that the implementation of legislation on animal transport is a priority.
“I have asked my services to make progress on this issue as a priority so that the Commission is in a position to take a decision on this issue in the coming months,” said Ms Vassiliou at a press briefing in Brussels.
Currently, horse and other animals suffer in high temperatures and crowded conditions as they are transported to across Europe to slaughter.
Thousands of voices heard
The petition signatories, from 21 countries, are calling on the European Commission to end the unnecessary suffering of millions of animals being transported long distances in Europe.
Collected by the Handle with Care campaign since its launch a year ago, the petitions were handed over by Leah Garcés, WSPA’s Director of Programmes, along with representatives from Eurogroup and World Horse Welfare.
The Handle with Care coalition proposes a revision of the current regulation to introduce significantly shorter journey limits. The campaign also urges the European Commission to take stronger action against those Member States that fail to enforce the current regulation, which introduced some much-needed welfare improvements, such as single partitions on the transport of horses and guidelines on stocking densities.
However, finite journey times – the key to safeguarding welfare – have not yet been introduced.
“The Handle with Care Coalition has discovered that horses are being forced to travel for up to 36 hours between Spain and Italy without stopping for water or rest. We saw many injuries, and most horses were suffering from dehydration and stress,” said Garcés.
“This cruelty could easily be avoided by humanely slaughtering the animals close to the point of origin, and shipping the meat products across to the point of sale.”
Finnish supporters lead the way
How did Finland collect more than 47,000 signatures and counting? Finnish psychology student Minna Vitikainen watched a documentary about Europe’s live horse trade on MTV3, produced and presented by renowned journalist Helena Laatio.
Horrified by what she saw, Minna set up a webpage urging fellow Finns to sign a petition: Hevosten Puolesta (‘In Support of Horses’). Helped by two other like minded women whom she met online, they contacted animal welfare groups to help stop the cruel trade.
“We would like to thank WSPA for taking us seriously and allowing us to join them at the European Commission,” said fellow activist Heidi Oster.
“I was sure there were people who felt the same as me and I just had to do something about it. The webpage brought all of us together and I hope we can make a difference,” said Minna.
When WSPA asked supporters to email words of encouragement to the Public Environmental Prosecutor of Belém, Brazil, acknowledging his ongoing efforts to prevent the cruelty of long distance transportation, over 33,000 of you did.
The prosecutor, Dr Benedito Wilson Sá, was the responsible for the suspension of live cattle exports from the port of Belém about a year ago.
Back then, he successfully argued that live export seriously compromises animal welfare as well as damaging the local economy by exporting jobs and taxes.
He also pointed out the damage that corralling large numbers of animals together causes to environment, ultimately taking its toll on tourism.
But Dr Sá’s call for a total ban on live cattle exports faced significant opposition from the powerful local live transport industry. WSPA, a member of the Handle with Care coalition, asked supporters to show him that people across the world believed in his action.
Overcoming opposition
Your many thousands of letters, praising his efforts for animals, were copied to Domingos Juvenil, President of the State Assembly of Pará, and to Ana Júlia Carepa, Governor of Pará, showing all three that the world cares about the conditions and welfare of cattle.
The cattle exported from Belém were subjected to extreme temperatures and the dangers of overcrowding for days at a time. A proportion of would die before they even reached their destination. The chilled and frozen food trade means this isn’t only cruel – it is unnecessary.
Those that survive the horrific land and sea journey were not guaranteed a humane death.
Dr Sá’s struggle struck a chord across the world – letters came from Italy, the Netherlands, the UK and USA as well as Brazil itself. Since then, he has been successful in defending the suspension from the appeals and a permanent ban is now in place.
In February WSPA staff congratulated him with a certificate of achievement and our sincere thanks.
We also wish to thank all of you who took the action.
Keeping up the pressure
WSPA hopes that the Belém ban will convince the Pará state authorities to close live animal exports from the State for good, replacing it with a chilled meat trade that will also benefit the local economy.
