Standards for the preparation, loading and confinement of animals for live export are set by the federal government through the Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL), which were introduced following the Cormo Express disaster in 2003. However, these standards fail to meet the basic requirements of animal welfare or prevent exported livestock from suffering and dying on these voyages.
Animals experience a range of serious welfare problems caused by the conditions in which they are transported on live export ships, including heat stress, difficulty adapting to new feed, injury and disease, leading to morbidity and mortality. These problems are exacerbated by extreme heat and humidity, rough weather, and prolonged confinement for up to five weeks on board ship. The key issues affecting animal welfare on board live export ships are:
High stocking densities
Live export carriers can carry up to 60,000 animals on up to 10 decks, each fitted with fixed pens and metal non-slip flooring. Space allowances per animal are so small they do not allow for all animals to move freely, or for sick or injured animals to be easily identified. High stocking densities exacerbate levels of heat stress, difficulty reaching feed for ‘shy feeders’, injury, disease, and mortality. Scientific evidence indicates that in order to meet animals’ basic needs, space allowances in ship-board pens should be at least 60% greater – in other words, the number of animals loaded onto each vessel needs to be reduced by approximately one third.
Lack of bedding or manure removal
Sheep on live export journeys are generally not provided with any bedding, nor are their pens cleaned out during the voyage. The pen floor is bare metal with a non-slip surface. Over the course of the journey, faeces, urine, spilt feed pellets and water build up to form a layer of manure. On long-haul voyages, the heat and humidity means this can turn into dense, sticky mud, causing sheep to become bogged. Unless these sheep are assisted, they will slowly suffer and die from starvation or dehydration. Cattle decks are washed out during the voyage, and cattle may be provided with a thin layer of sawdust or similar material as bedding, however, this is insufficient to prevent foot and leg abrasions or injuries from occurring. As with sheep, cattle can also become coated in manure especially during hot and humid conditions.
Lack of independent and appropriate veterinary care
Government standards only require veterinarians to travel on live export voyages of 31 days or longer, and only one veterinarian is required per vessel, with the responsibility of caring for up to 60,000 animals housed over many decks. These veterinarians used to be government employees but now they are chosen and contracted directly by the exporter. Since this system was introduced in the 1990s, there have been several well-publicised examples of exporters exerting undue influence over veterinarians and of vets being ostracised by the industry for commenting on poor conditions on board.
The 2003 Keniry review recommended that shipboard veterinarians be independent and not employed by either the exporting company or the shipping company. The Australian Veterinary Association also advocate that veterinarians must work without influence, interference or conflict of interest.
In 2018, following the high-profile exposure of sheep suffering on-board live export vessels to the Middle East, the Australian Government introduced departmental ‘independent observers’ to accompany live export voyages to monitor on-board conditions. However, independent observers only accompany a proportion of voyages, and while summaries of observer reports are published on the Department’s website, these provide little detail of the conditions and challenges experienced by animals on board.
High mortality rates and heat stress
Deaths on board ship are common on all sheep voyages and on some cattle voyages. These can vary from a small number to several thousand animals per voyage.
Mortality approximately doubles when sheep are transported from the Australian winter to the Middle Eastern summer (May to October). On average, sheep deaths are lowest in the first four months of the year, rise to a peak in August and remain above 1% until after October. Two separate government reviews (Keniry Review 2003; Farmer Review 2011) have indicated that the mortality rates of sheep exported into the Middle Eastern summer are unacceptably high.
The conditions that sheep experienced during export to the Middle East were exposed on national television in 2018. This led the Australian Government to commission a review of the trade during the Middle Eastern summer. The McCarthy Review recommended that the Heat Stress Risk Assessment used by the industry and the Department to determine stocking densities be revised so that it is based on avoiding heat stress, not simply mortalities. This recommendation led to a series of regulatory changes by the federal government. Currently, it is prohibited for sheep destined for the Middle East to leave Australia between June and mid-September, as it is impossible to avoid heat stress at this time, with extended dates for specific countries.
Cattle are also affected by export during this period, especially European breeds exported from southern ports. Stocking density adjustments cannot protect animals from morbidity and mortality when temperatures approach or reach the heat stress threshold for the species concerned.
Mortality rates are an extreme indicator of poor animal welfare: they signal an underlying level of suffering and stress in the broader population. Exported animals experience cumulative stress as they are mixed with unfamiliar animals, transported, loaded and confined at high stocking densities. Some animals fail to adapt to the on-board pelleted feed and stop eating, others will contract conjunctivitis (pink eye), or suffer from mucosal irritation, salmonellosis, enteritis, or pneumonia. Those that experience severe heat stress are unable to control their rising body temperature until their organs eventually fail.
When does the government investigate on-board mortalities?
The Australian Government only investigates on-board mortalities if they exceed a certain threshold. On long-haul voyages in the past, this has only been when mortality rates reach 2% for sheep and 1% for cattle. However, following the exposure of sheep suffering on-board live export vessels in 2018, and implementation of reviewed Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock (ASEL) in November 2020, the notifiable voyage mortality level is now 0.5% for cattle and 1% for sheep. The different rates for cattle and sheep are an indication of their relative value to the exporters: sheep deaths matter less than cattle deaths. So, on a voyage involving 60,000 sheep, 600 must die before the cause of death is investigated.
Notifiable mortality rates are routinely exceeded (at least 70 occasions since 2006), but in practice they represent only a small proportion of voyages with unusually high death rates. Between 2014 and 2018, 32 sheep voyages had a mortality rate of over 1%, when the industry average was 0.74%, yet only 3 of these triggered an investigation. The Australian Government also publishes 6-monthly statistics on mortality rates during live export journeys.
If you would like to take action on this issue, please visit our live export key issue page.
