2018-09-18
Australian Greens Animal Welfare Spokesperson and Senator for NSW, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, has called the Federal Government’s decision to approve a live export shipment of 30,000 sheep on the MV Maysora in the Middle Easter Summer an absolute disgrace. She has called on Liberal MPs in the Lower House who are supportive of her bill to end live sheep exports to the region to put their money where their mouth is and vote for it.
Senator Faruqi’s bill, cosponsored with Senator Derryn Hinch, would outlaw sheep shipments to the Middle East in the oppressive Northern Summer, passed the Senate in early September but the Morrison Government has refused to allow the bill to be debated in the House of Representatives.
Senator Faruqi said: “This is an incredibly reckless decision by the Morrison Government. Temperatures in the Middle East are broaching a stifling forty degrees. Wherever this shipment is going, sheep are almost guaranteed to die of extreme heat stress. Australians have said very clearly they do not want a repeat of the horrific scenes we saw earlier this year.
“Scott Morrison’s approval of this shipment is a humiliation for Liberal Party MPs who oppose live export. I am sorry to say that the time for ‘inside the tent’ diplomacy has passed. Liberals who support my bill to end the live export trade for sheep must put their money where their mouth is and bring it on for debate.
“The reality is that live export cannot happen without cruelty and horrific deaths. Ships of death like this one will continue to sail over and over again until there is a ban.
“For the Federal Government to give the go ahead to a new shipment, when they haven’t released their review of Live Export Regulator shows how little they think of this process. They are only interested in paying lip service to animal welfare and ticking the boxes.
“This ship in particular has a troubled history and is an old ship that is unable to meet community expectations. On previous voyages, there were reports of sheep not being able to lie down and inadequate access to food and water as well as sheep mortalities.
“This just proves what we have said all along, that the industry will not change. The only option is a ban on live exports and a transition to the vastly more profitable and humane chilled meat export industry” she concluded.