I support and congratulate Western Australia’s Opposition Leader, Mark McGowan, for his commitment to promoting, through consultation with the live export industry, a chilled meat trade as an animal welfare measure if elected as Premier on March 9.
Mr McGowan said on Sunday, January 27 when officially launching WA Labor's campaign that:
“You have to take all the steps you can to create more jobs in Australia, so that's why I'm talking more about processing meat in Australia as opposed to overseas”.
"What the state can do is work with proponents who might want to set up meatworks and help them secure labour to do so”.
The live export trade is not only a failure of ethics but a failure of economics. We should move towards a viable alternative – a local chilled meat export industry that protects and creates more Australian rural jobs, results in higher profitability through value added opportunities and addresses the public’s welfare concerns.
In 2011 the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU), estimated that some 3,500 direct employment meat processing jobs have been lost because of the Australian live animal trade. World Society for the Protection of Animals research indicates that the direct and indirect jobs created by growing the domestic meat processing industry would in fact exceed those that would be lost from the live export trade.
Transitioning away from live exports and into domestic processing would be better for both animal welfare and for Australian jobs. I commend Mr McGowan for his policy vision.
Congratulations on some decency and logical thinking. Live exports are a failure of economics to this country, not to mention others issues we have all seen.
ReplyDeleteKelvin you may support having a chilled meat trade.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't support is ANIMAL CRUELTY. Perhaps if both State and Federal Governments and those involved in the business of LIVE ANIMAL EXPORTS put their politics aside, talk of money, jobs ect and THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS WERE THE PRIORITY then no more ships would leave with ANIMALS FOR LIVE EXPORT. The animals suffer on the ships, some are trampled to death, they cram their faces up against the railings of the ships in order to breath. Very simply I believe that is CRUEL. In the meantime while you lot write policies, talk of transitioning to the chilled meat industry, ect more ships loaded with LIVE ANIMALS will leave and more animals will suffer not to mention their fate at the end of the journey.
It is fact that that the animals that are exported suffer on the ships.
I AM AGAINST ANIMAL CRUELTY.
I will NEVER FORGET THE COW IN THE 4 CORNERS PROGRAM
" A BLOODY BUSINESS"
1 more shipment of LIVE ANIMALS FOR EXPORT IS 1 TOO MANY.
How can Animal cruelty such as this be justified with talk of politics, MONEY, jobs, international relations, put plain and simply exporting LIVE ANIMALS IS unethical and cannot be justified.
OH YES IT IS A CRUEL AND BLOODY BUSINESS
According to the Minister for Agriculture, the live export trade is perfectly well conducted and supervised, and we have some of the highest standards of animal welfare in the world. However, despite all the thin supply chain guarantees, Australian sheep were seen in a Kuwait market contrary to the scheme, and being brutalized and cruelly treated. The supply chain assurance scheme is a farce, a smoke-screen. No animals can be protected from animal cruelty once they are on foreign shores, and the only thing keeping the shameful industry alive is the filthy lucre of $1 billion.
ReplyDelete