The export of live sheep, cattle and goats for slaughter has serious welfare problems — some relate to transport conditions resulting in high mortalities and others relate to a lack of control over what happens to animals once they reach the importing countries.
The RSPCA’s stated and longstanding policy is to oppose the export of live animals for slaughter. Instead, the RSPCA advocates the further development and adoption of a chilled and frozen meat-only trade. This would mean animals are slaughtered humanely in Australia, processed at Australian facilities and then their meat exported.
Farm animals exported from Australia face a journey of up to 35 days from the farmgate to their overseas destination. Prevailing weather conditions and requirements of the importing country can considerably increase the length of the journey. The main welfare concerns relate to high mortality (due to starvation, salmonellosis, heat stress and pneumonia), the duration of lot feeding prior to embarkation, ship design, environment, handling, management and contingency planning.
The RSPCA has long maintained that livestock should be slaughtered as close as possible to the point of production to avoid the suffering associated with their transport. The trade in live farm animals from Australia, which requires transporting millions of animals over thousands of kilometres on arduous journeys which can last several weeks, could not be further from this principle.
Apart from the general suffering resulting from long-distance transport there is a history of disasters at sea in which thousands of animals have died. On long voyages, mortality rates of 2% for sheep and 1% of cattle will trigger an investigation. So on a voyage of 70 000 sheep, 1400 must die before the cause of death is properly investigated.
Once livestock reach their port of destination, those animals that survive and are unloaded are outside the control of Australian law. The Australian Government cannot ensure that exported livestock are slaughtered humanely once they have left Australia. Evidence gathered from importing countries has shown that inhumane slaughter and handling practices, that would be contrary to Australian laws and standards, are common.
At their destination, exported animals may spend several months at a feedlot for fattening, or may be transported directly to a slaughtering facility, or sold to individual buyers. Evidence has shown that individual buyers in some countries will often transport sheep in car boots and on roof-racks in temperatures that may exceed 40°C. Cattle can be seen travelling on the back of utility trucks with only a few ropes to prevent them falling off.
Sheep have been shown being herded into a slaughtering facility, and then dragged one by one to the slaughtering area. Here their throats are cut and they are left to bleed to death over a drain. In some importing countries, cattle face an even more horrific death. In the slaughtering hall, they have their tendons slashed and sometimes their eyes gouged in order to bring them down and, finally, they have their throats cut and are left to bleed to death. All this happens in front of other cattle awaiting a similar fate. Cattle and sheep destined for ‘home slaughter’ are no better off and may face even crueler slaughtering methods.
In Australia, the slaughter of livestock is strictly regulated. Animals intended for slaughter must first be rendered insensible (stunned), then killed before they can regain consciousness.
The adoption of a chilled and frozen meat-only trade would prevent the suffering of long-distance sea transport. It would also save millions of animals from the cruel fate awaiting them at their destination.
