- Target:
- The Honorable President and Members of the Senate in the Parliament assembled
- Region:
- GLOBAL
- Website:
- www.animalsaustralia.org
June 26, 2003
While death and suffering has been endemic throughout the history of the live export industry, Australia's relentless drive to expand its market for 'live exports' has resulted in a corresponding increase in casualties associated with the long-haul overseas trade in live cattle over the past 7 years.
With the resumption of the live sheep trade with Saudi Arabia in 2000, there are now even larger numbers being exported to the Middle East.
After the stress of transportation, all the surviving cattle and sheep face death on foreign soil, many into countries which have no animal welfare laws or, at best, inadequate laws.
They will usually be killed without pre-stunning and often even without adequate restraint facilities. Animals Australia has eye-witness harrowing accounts of slaughter facilities and methods.
The result is inherent and persistent suffering.
This petition of the undersigned draws to the attention of the Australian Senate the stress and extreme suffering caused to cattle, sheep and goats during their assembly, land transportation and loading in Australia, shipment overseas, and then unloading and local transportation, feedlotting, handling, and finally slaughter without stunning in importing countries.
Further, we ask the Senate to note that heat stress, disease, injury, inadequate facilities, inadequate supervision and care, and incidents such as on board fires, ventilation breakdowns, storms and rejection of shipments contribute to high death rates each year.
Many thousands more suffer cruel practices prior to scheduled slaughter.
We the undersigned therefore call upon the Senate to establish an inquiry into all aspects of live animal exports from Australia, with particular reference to animal welfare, to be conducted by the Senate's References Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport.
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The End Live Animal Exports from Australia petition to The Honorable President and Members of the Senate in the Parliament assembled was written by Animals Australia and is in the category Animal Rights at GoPetition.