A review of Australia’s live sheep trade into the Middle East summer has reported to the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, David Littleproud, who has accepted all 23 of its recommendations.
In doing so, Mr Littleproud said the review would result in significant changes to how the trade is handled.
Mr Littleproud said the review, conducted by Michael McCarthy, would lead to the live sheep trade moving to the allometric stocking density system, which takes into account animal weight and size.
He said this would mean sheep will get up to 39 per cent more space and stocking densities will be reduced by up to 28 per cent.
“This change will affect shipments during the Middle Eastern summer this year,” Mr Littleproud said.
“The reportable mortality level will be halved from 2 to 1 per cent, which means if more than 1 per cent of sheep die it must be reported immediately and investigated.”
He said that in the past, the independent regulator had used sheep deaths as the indicator of animal welfare, but it would now move towards a model that focused on animal welfare, rather than mortality.
“Just because a sheep didn’t die doesn’t mean it was treated well,” Mr Littleproud said.
He said Dr McCarthy recommended the regulator must ensure the integrity of the system.
“It must nail those who do the wrong thing,” Mr Littleproud said.
“The independent regulator tells me it will progressively implement the McCarthy recommendations subject to further work on the heat stress risk management recommendations.”
The Minister said a new offence of profiting from poor animal welfare outcomes would be created under which a company director could face 10 years in prison or $2.1 million fine.
“The livelihoods of farmers across Western Australia and parts of South Australia, NSW and Victoria as well as 1,800 jobs depend on the live sheep trade and we need to give certainty to these people,” Mr Littleproud said.
The review’s 42-page report can be accessed on the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources website at this PS News link.
