Livestock exporters will face added responsibilities to improve protections for exported breeding stock after the Federal Government accepted the recommendations of a review of export policies on Tuesday.

The need for stronger protections for Australian breeding livestock in importing countries was one of several issues identified by Bill Farmer AO in his 2011 review of welfare standards in the live export trade, sparked by mistreatment of Australian cattle in Indonesian abattoirs.

The Farmer review led to the introduction of the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System in Australian export markets, which makes exporters responsible for the welfare of exported stock right through to the point of slaughter in foreign markets.

However ESCAS deals specifically with cattle exported for the feeder and slaughter market, and does not cover livestock exported for use in breeding programs or milking herds.

The task of developing assurance protocols for exported breeding cattle involves extra layers of complexity because breeding stock can be sold into a diverse range of production systems, from large to small, from government to privately-owned and from metropolitan settings to distant and remote rural locations.

The fact that breeding cattle can have productive lives of 10 years or more before they are eventually processed also raises questions about how long exporters can be reasonably expected to maintain legal responsibility for exported stock.

In his 2011 review Mr Farmer, a former Australian ambassador to Indonesia, recommended that the Australian Government look at whether a need exists for additional conditions for the export trade in breeder livestock.

His final report acknowledged the practical difficulties involved in extending arrangements for feeder cattle to breeding stock: “It would be difficult, costly and intrusive for the Australian Government/industry to maintain a ‘line of sight’ arrangement for breeders, particularly over the many years that breeders may live prior to being sold for slaughter," he wrote.

“The Review does not believe that it is practicable or reasonable to impose that requirement on regulators or industry.”

After Mr Farmer’s review, agriculture minister Joe Ludwig tasked the Industry Government Implementation Group (IGIG) – made up of representatives of industry bodies, export companies and Government departments – to review the need for breeder cattle protocols.

Additional protections needed to protect breeder welfare

In its report released on Tuesday, the IGIG found there was a need for additional conditions to protect the welfare of breeder exports.

The review identified a number of potential animal welfare risks for breeder livestock including slaughter through non-ESCAS pathways soon after arrival in the importing country or at the end of productive life and poor animal husbandry practices during productive life.

Deliberate circumvention of the ESCAS requirements for feeder/slaughter livestock exports by declaring the animals as breeder livestock was also deemed a potential risk.

“The IGIG considers that the risk of an animal welfare incident occurring is lower for breeder exports than for feeder/slaughter livestock," its report states.

“On this basis, it recommends that the exporter take responsibility for due diligence checks and provide a declaration to the regulator to enable confirmation of the suitability of the first point of ownership in the importing country.”

However, in line with the Farmer Review, the IGIG found it was not practical or reasonable for exporters to be responsible for breeder livestock through to the point of death, or to be responsible for the progeny of livestock exported from Australia.

The four recommendations of the IGIG review were:

• By August 2013 a review of the criteria used to confirm the legitimacy of breeding livestock consignments will be completed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and industry; 

• By August 2013 Australia’s livestock export industry will establish industry-based arrangements to manage the risk associated with Australian breeder livestock moving into slaughter chains where they are held in an ESCAS facility; 

• By the end of 2013 DAFF will require a declaration from an exporter confirming due diligence has been undertaken to ensure acceptable animal welfare outcomes will be achieved at the first breeder facility in the importing country; and

• Industry and government will continue to pursue improvement in the implementation of international animal welfare standards – government through the OIE and export businesses through support to breeding facilities and through animal welfare research, development and extension materials.

Mr Ludwig said the Gillard Government has accepted the four recommendations.

He said the breeding trade was an important part of Australian primary industry, with 125,000 cattle and close to 11,000 sheep exported from Australia in 2012 for breeding purposes (click on image below article to view table of Australian breeding cattle exports to various markets from 2006 to 2012).

“Through this review, the IGIG has identified ways to strengthen the future of the trade by enhancing the animal welfare conditions, while managing the regulatory impact," Mr Ludwig said.

“A big part of the review is improving how we certify that livestock are legitimately being exported as breeders.”

The recommendations also dealt with occasions where animals are exported as breeding livestock but were found to be unsuitable for breeding.

“When these animals are held in the same facilities as feeder animals, industry will now ensure processing in accordance with ESCAS regulations, including traceability and animal welfare requirements,” he said.

“This will help to manage the perceived risk that breeder exports could be used to avoid ESCAS requirements.”

The Government will review the implementation of these recommendations in two years time to ensure their ongoing effectiveness.

The IGIG includes members from the peak industry bodies, major exporters, state and territory representatives as well as officials from DAFF.

The report on the review of breeder livestock exports is available on the DAFF website.

Breeding livestock will remain exposed to cruelty: Animals Australia

In response to Tuesday's review announcement, Animals Australia issued the following press release:

A long-awaited review into the welfare of animals exported for breeding purposes has failed to recommend any measures that will protect them from cruelty.

Concerns about the export of breeding animals intensified late last year with revelations that thousands of Australian sheep and dairy cows had perished on a Sheikh’s property in Qatar. The animals, which were not covered by new live export regulations, died of malnutrition and starvation. Despite recognising the risks to livestock exported for breeding, the government/industry review concludes that providing breeding animals with the same regulatory protection as livestock exported for slaughter would create an ‘administrative burden’ that would ‘outweigh the value of the trade’.

Exporters expressed fear that they may lose existing markets or fail to attract new trading partners if animal welfare safeguards are imposed.
Animals Australia said it was profoundly disappointed by the report’s recommendations saying once again industry demands and profits on offer have been put ahead of animal welfare.

“It is unacceptable that tens of thousands of Australian cattle, sheep, buffalo and goats will continue to be exported with no adequate safeguards in place and most to countries where there are no laws to protect them from cruelty,” said Animals Australia Campaign Director, Lyn White.

“The government told us that the days of self-regulation of this industry were over yet they are putting responsibility for the welfare of exported breeder animals straight back into the hands of industry.

“In effect, the recommendations in this review provide no reassurance whatsoever that animals will be treated humanely.”

In addition, exporters will only need to assess the first facility that animals go to. There is nothing to stop these animals being moved to other facilities and no measures to protect them during transport and slaughter in the importing country.

"The lack of independent assessment and oversight remains a key flaw in any government proposals that purport to protect the welfare of animals.

“At the very least, Australia should set as a benchmark that animals exported for breeding and slaughter purposes can only go to countries that have enforceable animal protection laws in place. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for the vast majority of animals exported from Australia.”

Recommendations "a poor attempt": RSPCA

The RSPCA issued this press release in response to the review recommendation on Wednesday: 

RSPCA Australia is extremely disappointed by the government’s weak attempt to improve the lives of thousands of Australian sheep and cattle that are exported live for breeding purposes each year. The Industry Government Implementation Groups Breed Livestock Export report released today lacks substance and any real improvements to an industry that has been failing animals for far too long.

“Of the four recommendations in this report none would have changed the outcome for the 250 dairy cows exported to Qatar last year, nor would they have ensured that the facility and management had the capacity to care for them,” said RSPCA Australia CEO, Heather Neil. 

“This was the perfect opportunity for both government and industry to create solid regulations that would have a positive impact and protect our vulnerable and valuable breeding animals in overseas countries, but instead all they’ve done is allow current practices to continue.”

“Australian breeding animals are completely unprotected once they leave our shores. The fact that up to 7,000 Australian sheep and a number of cows and calves can die from malnutrition and heat stress at a facility in Qatar is proof that a system needs to be put in place rapidly, so animals in the future can only be sent to places that have the capacity to care for them.

“No animal should be sent overseas for breeding or dairy purposes unless the facility they’re going to has been demonstrated to have the capacity to care for them,” said Ms Neil.

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