{"id":1051,"date":"2013-02-08T17:26:21","date_gmt":"2013-02-08T07:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?p=1051"},"modified":"2013-03-01T17:44:51","modified_gmt":"2013-03-01T07:44:51","slug":"cruelty-footage-fires-further-vale-daaf-stoush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?p=1051","title":{"rendered":"Cruelty footage fires further VALE-DAAF stoush"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cattle<\/a>
Image: Thomas Bj\u00f8rkan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nThe war of words between Vets Against Live Export (VALE) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAAF) has intensified after the December broadcast of footage showing cattle being cruelly treated by an Israeli abattoir on the ABC’s <\/span>7.30 Report<\/em>.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAn investigation by an Israeli journalist revealed that animals at the Bakar Tnuva abattoir were subjected to cruel applications of electric goads to the head, rectum and genitals.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAdditional footage showed the dragging of a cow across a concrete floor by its forelimb on a forklift, the repeated punching of a cow in a crush, poor sheep handling and unstunned slaughter.<\/span>\r\n\r\nVALE veterinary behavioural consultant, Kate Lindsey, analysed the footage and said the appearance and behaviour of the cattle is consistent with severe physical and psychological stress.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cA consistent finding in the footage was that the downer cows were alone,\u201d Lindsey said.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cCattle are a prey species that form cohesive groups. Being on their own is highly stressful for most cattle.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cThe footage also showed many incidences of tail flicking, backward ear position and showing of the whites of the eyes, all behavioural signs consistent with agitation and distress.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nLindsey added that the facility was inappropriate for slaughter and that any animal entering it was likely to suffer significantly before death due to slippery surfaces and a very high noise level.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe DAFF conceded that the images are distressing and show staff actions that are inconsistent with animal welfare standards that are a condition of approval for the export of Australian animals.<\/span>\r\n\r\nA DAFF spokesperson told The Veterinarian the DAFF is investigating the reports to determine whether the footage is of Australian animals and whether Australian regulatory standards have been met.<\/span>\r\n\r\nUnder the Australian regulatory framework of the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS), livestock may only be exported in to approved supply chains, must be traced for the duration of the journey and treated at, or better than, internationally agreed welfare standards.<\/span>\r\n\r\nSupply chains must also be independently audited to verify ongoing compliance.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAn initial audit of the Bakar Tnuva abattoir was conducted in July 2012 by the exporter Elders.<\/span>\r\n\r\nDAFF released a summary of the outcomes in December 2012, and the audit found that the abattoir could potentially meet ESCAS standards.<\/span>\r\n\r\nUnder ESCAS, exporters are required to initiate independent audits of the slaughter facilities and processes prior to export.<\/span>\r\n\r\nInitial audits establish whether the supply chain can meet Australian legal requirements.<\/span>\r\n\r\nFurther audits are required to establish whether requirements are continuing to be met.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cThe initial independent audit (by Elders) was just that, a first initial audit,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cIndependent performance audits will also be required after the exporter’s livestock have entered the supply chain.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe DAFF spokesperson added that the Australian Government has commenced a number of actions including formally approaching Elders to commission an additional independent performance audit of this abattoir and has sought additional assurances from them and any others exporting to Israel that they remain in a position to comply with ESCAS.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cThe Department also welcomes the reports from the CEO of the abattoir that the plant manager has been replaced and the contract workers involved have been ordered not to come to work,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/span>\r\n\r\nVALE have criticised Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig, who on December 13 told The Australian that \u201cthere will always be incidences of cruelty\u201d in the live export trade and \u201cthere was no way to completely guarantee every foreign importer of Australian livestock would not be cruel to the animals.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe statement comes a little over a year after Ludwig told the ABC’s Landline<\/em> that cruelty in importing countries was not acceptable to him, the community or producers.<\/span>\r\n\r\nVALE said the shift in the government’s rhetoric illustrates that it is impossible to impose welfare standards on importing countries.<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn early December a worker from the abattoir told the Israeli news outlet Haaretz that after the Australian audit occurred there was no violence inflicted on animals for a couple of weeks.<\/span>\r\n\r\nH\u00a0owever, cruel and violent practices soon recommenced to ensure the processing chain moved at a faster speed.<\/span>\r\n\r\nAccording to VALE, the minister’s recent admission is acknowledgement of a \u201ctwo tier\u201d animal welfare system, the first being the high standards imposed locally, and the second being the \u201cinevitable\u201d cruelty to Australian animals in importing territories.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe DAFF spokesperson conceded that exporting livestock is like any other business, and things will not always go according to plan.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cESCAS aims to minimise adverse animal welfare incidents for Australian livestock, and ensure when they do occur it provides a regulatory process to investigate and address these incidents in a manner that minimises the disruption to trade and improves animal welfare outcomes,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/span>\r\n\r\nDAFF claim that before the new system was introduced this was simply not possible.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cIndustry and the government were unable to identify individual supply chains or enforce improvement in supply chain processes. Today we have a system in place that can identify where a problem exists, and directly address it.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe spokesperson urged the public not to allow recent events to detract from the \u201csubstantial reforms to the livestock export trade that have been made.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\nThe coming months appear ripe for further conflict on the issue, with VALE spokesperson Sue Foster describing the DAFF as an organisation that \u201cvigorously supports and promotes live export.\u201d<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cA cynic might suggest that DAFF is now describing itself as the \u201cindependent regulator\u201d because it is under threat by the Labor Party caucus vote to consider establishing an independent regulator,\u201d Foster said.<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn addition, Animals Australia has claimed a shipload of cattle left Australia for Mauritius with a number of heavily pregnant animals on board.<\/span>\r\n\r\nOn the other side of the debate, the Western Australian Livestock Exporters Association chairman John Edwards has also said the association is hoping for greater flexibility in government regulations to assist Australian exporters to develop greater trade opportunities with countries who have not completed the ESCAS paperwork. <\/span>\r\n\r\nSAM WORRAD<\/span><\/strong>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nThomas Bj\u00f8rkan <\/span>\r\n\r\n ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The war of words between Vets Against Live Export (VALE) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAAF) has intensified after the December broadcast of footage showing cattle being cruelly treated by an Israeli abattoir on the ABC’s 7.30 Report. An investigation by an Israeli journalist revealed that animals at the Bakar Tnuva abattoir […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[897,900,896,899,898,770,113,280,895],"class_list":["post-1051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-7-30-report","tag-bakar-tnuva","tag-daaf","tag-escas","tag-kate-lindsey","tag-live-export","tag-news-2","tag-sam-worrad","tag-vale"],"rise-blocks_total_comments":0,"rise-blocks_categories":[{"term_id":5,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":5,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":402,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":5,"category_count":402,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0}],"rise-blocks_excerpt":"The war of words between Vets Against Live Export (VALE) and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAAF) has intensified after the December broadcast of footage showing cattle being cruelly treated by an Israeli abattoir on the ABC’s 7.30 Report. An investigation by an Israeli journalist revealed that animals at the Bakar Tnuva abattoir were subjected to cruel applications..","blog_post_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","full":""},"categories_names":{"5":{"name":"News","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?cat=5"}},"tags_names":{"897":{"name":"7.30 Report","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=7-30-report"},"900":{"name":"Bakar Tnuva","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=bakar-tnuva"},"896":{"name":"DAAF","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=daaf"},"899":{"name":"ESCAS","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=escas"},"898":{"name":"Kate Lindsey","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=kate-lindsey"},"770":{"name":"live export","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=live-export"},"113":{"name":"news","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=news-2"},"280":{"name":"Sam Worrad","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=sam-worrad"},"895":{"name":"VALE","link":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/?tag=vale"}},"comments_number":"0","wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","cvmm-medium":"","cvmm-medium-plus":"","cvmm-portrait":"","cvmm-medium-square":"","cvmm-large":"","cvmm-small":"","full":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1051"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1061,"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1051\/revisions\/1061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theveterinarian.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}