Sheep Producers Australia welcomes animal welfare commitment

13 December 2018

Sheep Producers Australia today received advice from the Department of Agriculture and Water regarding the heat stress risk assessment for the export of sheep to the Middle East.

SPA Chair Chris Mirams said the industry had made a commitment to science-based animal welfare regulation and this work was an important first step in better understanding a best practice approach.

“Changing the way our industry operates from measuring mortality rates to measuring animal welfare requires a great depth of science and understanding. This is an important first step in starting to build this understanding,” Mr Mirams said.

“This is an important area to get right because if we know the parameters where we can move the sheep comfortably then we can start to look at new technology that enables that to occur.

“SPA is committed to seeing genuine change in the live sheep export trade and we are pleased that the wheels are in motion to achieve this.

“Science needs to underpin the decisions, including animal welfare considerations, that determine when we can and can’t export to our overseas markets. Blanket bans don’t generally achieve the best outcomes.

“The assessment released today is quite detailed so we will take the time to discuss with our members and provide our response before submissions close at the end of January.

“SPA continues to want to fix the trade because the reality is a strong live sheep export industry supports strong rural communities, especially in Western Australia. We cannot ignore that there are people’s livelihoods which depend on getting this right.”

Find out more about the review’s recommendations from the DAWR website