2020-06-01
Australian Greens Animal Welfare spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has said that the government must not grant an exemption to allow a live export vessel to ship sheep to the Middle East during the northern summer.
Senator Faruqi said:
“Allowing this voyage to proceed will have deadly consequences for the sheep on board.
“We know sheep suffer immense heat stress in the northern summer conditions. We have seen this cruelty happen so many times before on these ships of misery and it has to stop.
“To allow an exemption now would completely undermine the integrity of the new regulations, which were only recently introduced. That it’s even on the cards shows just how much influence this cruel industry has over the government.
“During COVID-19 the government has not been placing independent observers on ships, so there will not be even a semblance of oversight over what happens on this ship.
“In the end, we have to ban live export, prioritise the welfare of animals, and stop this needless cruelty,” she said.