tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/live-cattle-exports-18667/articlesLive cattle exports – The Conversation2024-03-05T03:00:57Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2159892024-03-05T03:00:57Z2024-03-05T03:00:57ZLumpy skin disease is a threat to Australia and could decimate our cattle industries – we need to know how it could enter and spread<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577190/original/file-20240221-22-67ggd8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C8%2C5964%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/calf-has-sick-lumpy-skin-disease-2028066140">assiduousness, Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australian authorities are on high alert amid the spread of <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-03-04/lumpy-skin-disease-detected-in-indonesia/100881842">lumpy skin disease</a> in cattle and buffalo across South-East Asia. While <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pests-diseases-weeds/animal/lumpy-skin-disease/australias-freedom-from-lsd">Australia remains free of the disease</a>, the virus is likely to breach our borders at some stage.</p>
<p>Detection of the disease in Australia’s livestock industries would lead to <a href="https://animalhealthaustralia.com.au/download/1653/">restrictions on cattle, meat and dairy exports</a>, with serious consequences for the economy. </p>
<p>The federal government has a <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pests-diseases-weeds/animal/lumpy-skin-disease/australias-freedom-from-lsd">plan to detect and respond</a> to an outbreak. But we need to go one better – to predict where the disease is likely to appear and how it might spread. </p>
<p>Our team is developing a model we hope will provide this vital information. It will help Australia prepare and respond not just to the current threat, but to any future biosecurity breach.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Lumpy skin disease is on Australia’s doorstep, with fears the threat is going unnoticed | ABC News (September 2022)</span></figcaption>
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<h2>What is lumpy skin disease?</h2>
<p><a href="https://animalhealthaustralia.com.au/lumpy-skin-disease/">Lumpy skin disease is a viral disease</a> that affects cattle and buffalo, not humans. The incubation period is up to 28 days. </p>
<p>First reported in Zambia in 1929, the <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2022.2764-2771">disease has spread</a> across Africa, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Asia. It reached <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-03-04/lumpy-skin-disease-detected-in-indonesia/100881842">Indonesia in 2022</a>.</p>
<p>Early symptoms include fever and increased tear production. Lumps then appear on the skin and can cover the entire body, gradually hardening as the disease develops. Sometimes the lumps slough off, leaving holes on the skin that are susceptible to infections. </p>
<p>Typically only 1-5% of cattle die from the disease, but those that recover may not return to full health.</p>
<p>Milk production is reduced in cows. Meat yield from infected cattle is likely to be reduced, although it does not contain lumps and is safe to eat. Temporary or permanent infertility in both cows and bulls can also develop during the first month of infection.</p>
<p>The virus is mainly spread by biting insects such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.g5808">mosquitoes, stable flies and ticks</a>. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-021-02786-0">Higher temperature</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.434">increased rainfall</a> can increase insect populations and activity, and have triggered outbreaks of disease overseas.</p>
<p>The disease can also be transmitted by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/1297-9716-43-1">close contact between cattle</a>, such as exposure to body fluids.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Map showing where lumpy skin disease has been reported in South-East Asia over the last five years" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=593&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=746&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=746&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/576654/original/file-20240220-18-l9zg5j.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=746&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Where lumpy skin disease has been reported over the last five years in South-East Asia, as at February 19 this year, using data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The University of Queensland</span></span>
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<h2>A testing time with Indonesia and Malaysia</h2>
<p>In July last year, Indonesian authorities claimed 13 cows from Australia had <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-31/lumpy-skin-disease-cattle-from-australia-exports-indonesia/102668870">tested positive</a> days after arrival. At the time, Australian authorities <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/lsd-detection-in-cattle-exported-to-indonesia">demonstrated</a> that the nation was free of the disease. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, trade between Indonesia and four of Australia’s cattle export holding yards was <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-30/lsd-in-australian-cattle-in-indonesia/102666812">suspended</a> immediately. Then <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/second-country-suspends-live-cattle-exports-from-australia-over-disease-fears/news-story/d94648994297f0be4497ca0eeda965b5">Malaysia went further and stopped accepting</a> any Australian live cattle and buffalo. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/malaysian-authorities-lift-temporary-suspension">Malaysia</a> and <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/indonesia-lifts-trade-restrictions">Indonesia</a> each lifted their restrictions in early September, after <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/australia-remains-free-from-lumpy-skin-disease">more than 1,000 cattle</a> were tested across Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory. The Australian government also <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/indonesia-lifts-ban-on-live-cattle-exports-from-australia/news-story/891378279957dfb5dec102a9fe504749">agreed</a> to boost surveillance and biosecurity measures, including testing on farms and <a href="https://www.beefcentral.com/live-export/alec-welcomes-resumption-of-indonesian-cattle-trade/">disinfecting departing export vessels</a>.</p>
<p>Since the lifting of restrictions, the Indonesian government has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-10-11/cattle-rejected-live-export-indonesia-skin-blemishes-lsd/102956626">reportedly</a> rejected Australian cattle with skin blemishes – in some cases, this comprised up to 30% of cattle in a shipment.</p>
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<h2>How could lumpy skin disease enter Australia?</h2>
<p>The Australian government has introduced <a href="https://animalhealthaustralia.com.au/download/1653/">strict biosecurity measures</a> at international ports to minimise the risk of infected animals entering the country. These include disinfection and disinsection (spraying to remove insects) of vessels and cargo.</p>
<p>However, there’s a high risk of <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/ausvet-lsd-quantitative-assessment.pdf">infected insects entering Australia</a> through international ports or by travelling across the sea to northern Australia. Some infected flying insects may be able to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.12378">cover long distances, aided by strong winds</a>.</p>
<p>Another possible mode of entry for infected insects is through <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2023-12-13/illegal-fishing-in-wa-sparks-biosecurity-fears/103195314">illegal fishers landing on the Australian coast</a>.</p>
<h2>What can be done to prevent the spread of lumpy skin disease?</h2>
<p>In countries where lumpy skin disease is common, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.g5808">live vaccines have been used to control the disease</a>. However, this is not practical in disease-free countries such as Australia, because vaccinated animals <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.i2800">cannot be distinguished</a> from infected animals. This means Australia could not be confirmed free of disease, leading to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.g5808">international trade restrictions</a>.</p>
<p>The Australian government <a href="https://minister.agriculture.gov.au/Watt/media-releases/lsd-vaccine-supply-secured">secured a supply of lumpy skin disease vaccines</a> in October. These are being securely stored overseas in case of an outbreak. The vaccines will also be available to neighbouring Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.woah.org/en/document/lumpy-skin-disease-technical-disease-card/">Preventing the spread of lumpy skin disease</a> requires early detection of the disease, isolation of potentially infected animals and restrictions around their movement. Once initial diagnosis is confirmed, culling of infected animals and insect control would likely follow.</p>
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<h2>What can be done to prepare Australia?</h2>
<p>Australia has a <a href="https://animalhealthaustralia.com.au/download/1653/">veterinary emergency response plan</a> to enact if the disease enters the country. The federal government has also <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/pests-diseases-weeds/animal/lumpy-skin-disease/australias-freedom-from-lsd">boosted surveillance</a> and begun <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/about/news/getting-ready-to-respond">offering training</a> for veterinarians, industry and government staff on how to prevent and control the spread of the disease.</p>
<p>However, innovative models are needed to assess the likely introduction and spread of the disease in Australia. Our team is developing a framework to carry out such modelling. Our model will include data describing the current status of reports of the disease outside of Australia, Australia’s landscape and climate, distribution and movement of cattle, and local insect populations.</p>
<p>These models will produce maps that can be used to identify areas in Australia more suitable to receiving the disease, such as areas with favourable environmental conditions for the survival of imported infected insects. These maps will inform decisions around surveillance and response plans, and help farmers prepare for a potential outbreak of the disease.</p>
<p>Maintaining a high level of preparedness and awareness of the disease among cattle producers, farmers, veterinarians and other relevant individuals is paramount if we are to maintain our disease-free status as an international exporter. </p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kei Owada works for the University of Queensland. The research team at the University of Queensland working on lumpy skin disease modelling is jointly supported by the Queensland Government Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the University of Queensland.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ben Hayes receives funding from the University of Queensland and the Queensland Government Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ricardo J. Soares Magalhaes receives funding from the University of Queensland and the Queensland Government Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Timothy J. Mahony works for the University of Queensland. The research team at the University of Queensland working on lumpy skin disease modelling and vaccine development is jointly supported by the Queensland Government Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the University of Queensland.</span></em></p>A disfiguring disease of cattle and buffalo has arrived on our doorstep. We need to keep lumpy skin disease out of Australia, while preparing for the almost inevitable outbreak.Kei Owada, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Veterinary Science, The University of QueenslandBen Hayes, Director, Centre for Animal Science, The University of QueenslandRicardo J. Soares Magalhaes, Professor, School of Veterinary Science, The University of QueenslandTimothy J. Mahony, Professor, Centre for Animal Science, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2058312023-07-05T05:13:28Z2023-07-05T05:13:28ZWhy Australia banning live sheep exports may be a net loss for animal welfare<p>Australia’s government wants to end live sheep exports. A panel of four experts has been appointed and given a $5.6 million budget to come up with a plan to phase out the trade, worth $92 million a year. </p>
<p>Chaired by the former head of the Murray Darling Basin Authority, Phillip Glyde, the panel is expected to report by the end of September. What it proposes remains to be seen. The only thing that’s certain is that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised the ban won’t happen in his first term, and that a lot more funding will be needed if no one involved in the trade is to be left worse off. </p>
<p>The thornier question is whether the ban – something animal welfare activists have campaigned for decades – will be a net gain for global animal welfare. It’s likely to mean more animals being shipped from nations with lower standards.</p>
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<h2>Scandals, bans and reforms</h2>
<p>Australia is the world’s seventh-biggest exporter of live animals by value. In 2022 it accounted for about 4.7% of the global trade, mostly shipping cattle to Asia and <a href="https://oec.world/en/profile/hs/sheep-live#:%7E:text=Overview%20This%20page%20contains%20the,0.0077%25%20of%20total%20world%20trade">sheep</a> to the Middle East. These markets either lack reliable refrigeration and cold-chain facilities for processed meat or <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/animal/welfare/export-trade">have a cultural preference</a> for freshly slaughtered meat adhering to specific practices, like halal.</p>
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<p>Currently there is a ban on sheep being shipped to the <a href="https://oia.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/posts/2020/04/final_ris_-_live_sheep_exports_to_the_middle_east_-_northern_hemisphere.docx">northern hemisphere in summer</a>, after 2,400 sheep died on a journey to the Middle East in 2017. There have also been temporary suspensions to individual countries over the past two decades. </p>
<p>Exports to Indonesia were suspended for six weeks in 2012, following an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-08/a-bloody-business---2011/2841918">ABC Four Corners expose</a> of cruelty to cattle in abattoirs. </p>
<p>Trade to Egypt was suspended in 2013 and 2006, again over cruelty to cattle in abattoirs. Shipments to Saudi Arabia were suspended between 2003 and 2005, after <a href="https://lawaspect.com/background-to-the-cormo-express-incident/">58,000 sheep were stranded at sea for three months</a> after Saudi authorities refused to let them disembark due to an outbreak of the viral disease <a href="https://farmerhealth.org.au/2014/03/21/scabby-mouth-orf">scabby mouth</a>.</p>
<p>These scandals, however, have led to significant reforms in the industry, with the federal government imposing stringent obligations on exporters for trade to resume. </p>
<p>As a result, Australia can boast that it <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/agriculture-land/animal/welfare/export-trade">leads the world</a> in animal welfare practices. </p>
<p>It is only country that requires exporters to safeguard the welfare of animals from the paddock to the point of slaughter in abattoirs in other countries. This is a rare example of the principle of extended producer responsibility being practised. The World Organisation for Animal Health recommends this but does not require it. </p>
<h2>Regulating treatment in importing nations</h2>
<p>Two sets of Australian regulations oversee the treatment of animals being shipped for slaughter overseas. From the farmgate to the ship is covered by the <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/export/controlled-goods/live-animals/livestock/australian-standards-livestock">Australian Standards for the Export of Livestock</a>. These were introduced in 2021.</p>
<p>Treatment in importing countries is covered by the <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/export/controlled-goods/live-animals/livestock/exporters/escas">Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System</a> (ESCAS). These rules were instituted in 2011, following the expose of mistreatment in Indonesian abattoirs. </p>
<p>They require exporters to ensure all handlers and facilities (ports, transport vehicle, feedlots and abbatoirs) in importing countries to comply with both local and Australian welfare guidelines.</p>
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<img alt="Sheep aboard the live export ship Al Messilah before it leaves Fremantle for the Middle East, April 6 2023." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535703/original/file-20230705-27-2e46zt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535703/original/file-20230705-27-2e46zt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535703/original/file-20230705-27-2e46zt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535703/original/file-20230705-27-2e46zt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535703/original/file-20230705-27-2e46zt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535703/original/file-20230705-27-2e46zt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535703/original/file-20230705-27-2e46zt.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sheep aboard the live export ship Al Messilah before it leaves Fremantle for the Middle East, April 6 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Elizabeth Jackson</span></span>
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<p>To gain an export licence from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, exporters must demonstrate they have control over <a href="https://www.iglae.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-11/escas-report-22.pdf">every link in the supply chain</a> from when animals leave the ship to the point at which they are slaughtered. </p>
<p>Animals must be inspected before, during and after their journey by accredited animal health professionals. Facilities and animal-handling techniques <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/export/controlled-goods/live-animals/livestock/exporters/escas#independent-auditing">are audited</a> at least once a year. Auditors are appointed by the exporter but have to be independent, have no conflict of interest and be appropriately qualified.</p>
<h2>Imperfect but ‘unique and innovative’</h2>
<p>The system is not perfect. A <a href="https://www.iglae.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-11/escas-report-22.pdf">2021 review</a> of ESCAS by the federal Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports identified a number of regulatory gaps and ways to make the system more efficient. In particular it noted that loss of control and traceability, sometimes with poor animal welfare outcomes, still occurs at low but chronic levels.</p>
<p>Nonetheless it still described the system as “a unique and innovative regulatory practice solution” that had largely achieved its broad objectives, and made eight recommendations to fix problems (the department agreed to four of these, and “agreed in principle” to the other four.)</p>
<h2>Reporting non-compliance</h2>
<p>One measure of how well the system is working is the number of reports of Australian livestock being mistreated or being in non-accredited facilities.
Anyone can make these reports, which <a href="https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20211213143841/https:/www.awe.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/export/controlled-goods/live-animals/livestock/regulatory-framework/compliance-investigations/investigations-regulatory-compliance">are publicly available</a>, along with the investigations arising.</p>
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<p>For example, in 2021 the animal rights group Animals Australia reported non-compliant slaughter of sheep in Jordan. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/escas-regulatory-performance-report-jul-21-jun-2022.pdf">agreed</a>, and that the control arrangements of the exporter, Livestock Shipping Services, had failed. </p>
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<p>The federal minister for Agriculture, Murray Watt, described the live export industry in June 2020 (when he was shadow minister for Northern Australia) as “<a href="https://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?id=2020-06-12.91.1">a world leader with regard to animal welfare</a>”.</p>
<p>Nothing has changed since.</p>
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<p><em>Correction: this article originally stated the Australian government wants to ban live animal exports. The proposed ban is for live sheep exports. The article has been amended accordingly.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205831/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Jackson is a member-elected non-executive director of Sheep Producers Australia and is on the WAFarmers' Livestock Council but does not derive any income from the agricultural industry. She currently receives research funding from the Food Agility CRC and the Fight Food Waste CRC. </span></em></p>Australia can boast that it leads the world in animal welfare practices. A ban on live exports will more animals being shipped from nations with lower standards.Elizabeth (Liz) Jackson, Associate Professor of Supply Chain Management & Logistics, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1405512020-06-19T02:31:52Z2020-06-19T02:31:52ZHow the Gillard government’s live cattle ban created a headache for Scott Morrison<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342866/original/file-20200619-41200-a66ua5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C80%2C4413%2C2770&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Grenville Turner/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Earlier this month, the Federal Court found the Gillard’s governmnet’s controversial 2011 live export ban <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-02/federal-court-live-export-class-action-ruling/12308388">was unlawful</a>. </p>
<p>But this is not a problem for the former government, who imposed the ban.
It is one the current Morrison government has to grapple with. </p>
<p>Not only do they face millions of dollars in damages, but the Federal Court judgment raises serious questions about the limits of ministerial decision-making. </p>
<h2>How did this start?</h2>
<p>In June 2011, then agriculture minister Joe Ludwig <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/31/australia-suspends-cattle-export-indonesia">issued a snap, blanket ban</a> on Australia’s live cattle exports to Indonesia for six months. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-meat-exports-be-made-humane-here-are-three-key-strategies-96213">Can meat exports be made humane? Here are three key strategies</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This followed a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/4c-full-program-bloody-business/8961434">Four Corners</a> report featuring disturbing footage of the treatment of Australian cattle at Indonesian abattoirs. </p>
<p>At the time the footage aired, the minister was already in discussion with exporters about the conditions in abattoirs. Several “closed loops” had been created in which the entire journey of an animal from Australia to the abattoir in Indonesia had been subjected to quality control. </p>
<p>But the footage was so shocking, there was public pressure to do more. </p>
<p>Ludwig issued orders under the <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2012C00259">Export Control Act</a> to suspend live cattle exports to Indonesia, without exceptions. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342874/original/file-20200619-41238-xag6si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342874/original/file-20200619-41238-xag6si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342874/original/file-20200619-41238-xag6si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342874/original/file-20200619-41238-xag6si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342874/original/file-20200619-41238-xag6si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342874/original/file-20200619-41238-xag6si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342874/original/file-20200619-41238-xag6si.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Former agriculture minister Joe Ludwig banned live cattle exports to Indonesia in 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Penny Bradfied/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While the ban was celebrated by animal welfare groups, it angered the live cattle industry. It caused great difficulties for exporters in the process of shipping stock and they suffered significant losses and additional costs. </p>
<p>In 2014, the Northern Territory-based Brett Cattle Company <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-28/cattle-industry-launches-class-action-over-live-export-ban/5845650?nw=0">launched a class action</a> against the agriculture minister and the Commonwealth.</p>
<h2>What did the Federal Court find?</h2>
<p>The Federal Court handed down its <a href="https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2020/2020fca0732">landmark ruling</a> on June 2. </p>
<p>Justice Stephen Rares found the ban was “capricious and unreasonable”, and Ludwig had committed the “tort of misfeasance” in public office by imposing the live export ban without regard to its possible illegality and the losses it would cause. </p>
<p>This means Ludwig either knew the ban was beyond his ministerial power, or was reckless as to whether it was. There was also recklessness regarding the possible harm that might result. </p>
<p>The key element here is the lack of an honest attempt to perform the functions of the ministerial office, with “honest” having the technical legal meaning of genuine belief that your action is lawful.</p>
<p>Rares wrote Ludwig “plunged ahead” with the ban, even though </p>
<blockquote>
<p>he knew that he had no advice about whether it would be valid and that there was a real risk that it would not be.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>What does this mean?</h2>
<p>This means damages will be awarded to the plaintiffs in the class action, unless the former minister or the Commonwealth successfully appeal. </p>
<p>To date, 300 parties have joined the class action, calling for a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-02/federal-court-to-rule-on-live-export-class-action/12307482">reported $600m</a> in compensation.</p>
<p>Apart from the price tag, the case is also potentially significant as a major restraint on ministerial discretion.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ban-on-live-sheep-exports-has-just-been-lifted-heres-whats-changed-123998">The ban on live sheep exports has just been lifted. Here’s what’s changed</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While there have been other bans of particular forms of live exports since this one in 2011, ministers now know that they cannot simply impose a blanket ban, but must take legal advice and proceed with caution.</p>
<h2>What happens now?</h2>
<p>Having made his findings, Rares has now invited the parties to confer on how damages and costs will be calculated.</p>
<p>Ludwig seems unlikely to appeal. He did not give evidence in the case. While he may face personal liability, the Commonwealth is also liable.</p>
<p>The Morrison government is currently weighing up an appeal. The prime minister reportedly told a meeting of Coalition MPs earlier this month the judgement raised “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/10/australian-government-considers-appealing-against-judgment-on-2011-live-cattle-export-ban">real issues</a>”. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342875/original/file-20200619-41234-1wqmy8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/342875/original/file-20200619-41234-1wqmy8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342875/original/file-20200619-41234-1wqmy8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342875/original/file-20200619-41234-1wqmy8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342875/original/file-20200619-41234-1wqmy8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342875/original/file-20200619-41234-1wqmy8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/342875/original/file-20200619-41234-1wqmy8j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Morrison government is currently weighing up an appeal against the federal court’s decision.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Earlier this week, Attorney-General Christian Porter said he was still deciding about a possible appeal. </p>
<p>“I take a very cautious approach,” he told reporters in Canberra. “And what I want to understand is what are the potential implications of that decision for a range of industries, including the live animal export industry?”</p>
<p>Even though the current government is highly critical of the 2011 decision, no government would wish to have ministerial discretion restrained in this way.</p>
<p>Appealing is costly, but the Commonwealth has deep pockets. </p>
<p>Their preferred course at this stage, though, may be to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/10/australian-government-considers-appealing-against-judgment-on-2011-live-cattle-export-ban">reach agreement on damages and costs</a>, rather than leaving these to the court. Porter says he won’t make a decision on an appeal until June 29, when final orders are delivered on the case. </p>
<h2>What are the chances of a successful appeal?</h2>
<p>An appeal would have to argue the judge made an error of law. </p>
<p>The judgment has been very carefully crafted and may well withstand appeal, but the principles at stake are worth testing.</p>
<p>As Porter <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jun/10/australian-government-considers-appealing-against-judgment-on-2011-live-cattle-export-ban">reportedly told colleagues</a>, the tort of misfeasance has been applied here in a way not seen before.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ban-on-live-sheep-exports-has-just-been-lifted-heres-whats-changed-123998">The ban on live sheep exports has just been lifted. Here’s what’s changed</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Regardless of whether an appeal is pursued, ministers are more likely to take more advice before acting in future. </p>
<p>However, nine years after the event, it is hard to see this as an effective form of ministerial accountability. The affected exporters look likely to finally get some compensation. But the cattle are long dead.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140551/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matt Harvey is a member of the Australian Labor Party. </span></em></p>The Federal Court found a 2011 decision by the Gillard government was unlawful. What does this mean for ministerial decision-making today?Matt Harvey, Senior Lecturer in Law, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/962132018-05-09T02:17:41Z2018-05-09T02:17:41ZCan meat exports be made humane? Here are three key strategies<p>Horrific footage of animals dying in <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/boiled-alive-new-footage-shows-full-scale-of-live-exports-horror-20180503-p4zd9q.html">extreme heat</a> aboard ships has raised fresh questions over the future of Australia’s live export industry.</p>
<p>Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has announced a <a href="https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/foreign-affairs/littleproud-blasts-shortens-call-for-live-sheep-export-ban/news-story/b405ab26bd75d4f7c8c3b0f78b19824b">review of the sheep trade</a> to the Middle East, while the federal Labor party has promised to <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2018-05-08/how-new-zealand-banned-live-export-trading/9733146">ban the trade</a> if it wins the next election. Farmers’ groups argue that the industry is <a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/farmers-argue-against-banning-live-exports/news-story/981d4578cde8b0987d689f5d745bf02c">too important</a> to halt. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-alp-promises-to-phase-out-live-sheep-export-96049">The ALP promises to phase out live sheep export</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So what do we need to do to humanely sell Australia’s meat to the world? Can the meat be processed on our shores? And with many of Australia’s livestock destined for the Middle East or Indonesia, can religious slaughter requirements be met while avoiding unnecessary animal suffering?</p>
<p>We asked three experts: an agricultural specialist, a veterinarian and a religious scholar.</p>
<h2>Increase regional Australian meat processing</h2>
<p><strong>Andrew Butt, Associate Professor in Sustainability and Urban Planning, RMIT University</strong></p>
<p>Meat exports, particularly beef, have increased considerably in recent decades, overtaking wheat to become Australia’s <a href="http://data.daff.gov.au/data/warehouse/agcstd9abcc002/agcstd9abcc0022017_IugZg/ACS_2017_v1.1.0_lr.pdf">largest agricultural export by value</a>. </p>
<p>However, only about <a href="http://data.daff.gov.au/data/warehouse/9aal/2017/aaim17_20171121/AusAgIndMap2017_v.1.1.0.pdf">20% of beef exports by carcass weight</a> are live, mostly to Indonesia. For sheep meat (lamb and mutton), the proportions are similar, with about 20% by carcass weight comprising live exports going almost exclusively to Middle East markets. Lamb exports have increased fivefold over the past two decades, while domestic consumption has remained flat. </p>
<p>The national figures nevertheless conceal considerable regional variation. In some places, most or all of the production happens within the same local areas. </p>
<p>The regions of New England and of Toowoomba and Darling Downs, for example, have relatively high levels of employment in both agriculture and meat processing. Conversely, 10% of outback Queensland’s workforce is in beef cattle farming – the highest in Australia – but local processing employment is virtually non-existent. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-alp-promises-to-phase-out-live-sheep-export-96049">The ALP promises to phase out live sheep export</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In many regions, the abattoir and meat-processing industries are seeing changes common to other industries: rationalisation and <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2017-08-22/nolan-meats-expands-fully-automated-cold-storage-facility/8829772here">automation</a>.</p>
<p>We have an opportunity to improve the way we handle meat processing in Australia. Orthodox regional development policy would seek to retain as many stages of production as possible in the local region – in this case growing, feed production, transport, slaughtering and packing of meat products. By increasing meat processing in areas with large farming communities, we can strengthen these chains.</p>
<p>Live sheep and cattle exports are contingent on the cultural preferences <em>and</em> supply-chain limitations of key overseas markets. That is, some countries may not have the reliable refrigeration needed to keep processed meat fresh.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-live-animal-export-ever-be-humane-19804">Can live animal export ever be humane?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It may be possible to seamlessly substitute this trade for domestically slaughtered and processed meat, but this should be considered in the context of a highly differentiated industry with pronounced regional differences.</p>
<h2>Improve shipping conditions</h2>
<p><strong>Andrew Fisher, Professor of Cattle and Sheep Production Medicine, University of Melbourne</strong></p>
<p>The welfare challenges for sheep during the current live export process are centred around five issues: </p>
<ol>
<li>failing to eat during the voyage </li>
<li>salmonella infection of the gastrointestinal tract (often linked to failure to eat) </li>
<li>heat stress </li>
<li>other onboard conditions related to lying space, lying conditions and ease of access to food and water </li>
<li>handling and conditions in the receiving country, including treatment at slaughter.</li>
</ol>
<p>Heat stress was the primary cause of the recently revealed sheep deaths on board the Awassi Express in August 2017. </p>
<p>Sheep exported from Australia during the southern winter are at greater risk of heat stress. This is because the animals are adapted to cooler conditions before being exposed to the climate of the Equator and the Middle East, which is hottest at that time of the year.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stop-the-sheep-trade-in-the-northern-summer-veterinarians-say-96227">Stop the sheep trade in the northern summer, veterinarians say</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The risk of heat stress causing suffering and death can be reduced to some extent by reducing the stocking density of the sheep on a voyage. This enhances airflow around the animals and reduces the build-up of humidity and ammonia from the accumulating manure. The actual space available to each sheep would vary with the weight of the sheep and the ventilation design of the ship.</p>
<p>Eliminating almost all risk of heat stress would probably mean having much lower stocking densities all the time, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/stop-the-sheep-trade-in-the-northern-summer-veterinarians-say-96227">avoiding shipments entirely during the Australian winter</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-history-of-live-exports-is-more-than-two-centuries-old-94730">Australia's history of live exports is more than two centuries old</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The use of very low stocking densities or even air-conditioned ships may be technically feasible (just as it is for human passengers). In practice, however, the economics of this may prompt a shift away from the mass live export of sheep for slaughter.</p>
<h2>Engage with religious leaders</h2>
<p><strong>Shakira Hussein, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow, National Centre for Excellence in Islamic Studies, University of Melbourne</strong></p>
<p>A large portion of Australia’s live exports go to Muslim-majority Middle Eastern countries and Indonesia. (As previously noted, one major reason is limited refrigeration facilities outside major cities.)</p>
<p>Another factor is the need for meat to be slaughtered according to religious rules, making the meat either halal or kosher.</p>
<p>Halal and kosher slaughter is supposed to provide the animal with a quick and humane death. But there is some dispute over the exact details, so not all of the “halal-certified” meat processed in Australia is regarded as acceptable by all Muslim communities. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-halal-and-how-does-certification-work-36300">Explainer: what is halal, and how does certification work?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Broadly speaking, for both halal and kosher meat, the animal’s throat must be cut and the blood drained (as the consumption of blood is prohibited). Animals should be slaughtered individually so they are not subjected to the sight of other animals being killed.</p>
<p>The major issue is that Australian regulations require that animals be stunned before being killed. Some Islamic scholars argue that this is not halal, on the grounds that it may kill the animal before the blood has been fully drained. </p>
<p>However, all halal chicken and the vast majority of halal livestock slaughtered in Australia are pre-stunned. This includes meat for both the export and domestic markets.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-ethics-of-ritual-slaughter-2101">Explainer: the ethics of ritual slaughter</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A small number of Australian slaughterhouses have been granted exemptions from the requirement to pre-stun animals, to provide for halal and in particular kosher slaughter. Kosher slaughter does not accommodate pre-stunning. In these cases, cattle are stunned after the throat is cut, while sheep must be stunned if the animal does not quickly lose consciousness.</p>
<p>Refrigerated meat cannot entirely substitute for live exports because freshly slaughtered meat is regarded as being higher quality. The festival of <em>Eid al Adha</em> also involves the slaughter of livestock as part of the ritual. </p>
<p>If Australia were to end live exports, it would be important to reduce the negative impact on societies such as Indonesia by supporting the development of the local livestock industry and of refrigeration facilities in regional areas. </p>
<p>Local Muslim community organisations and leaders can also play a crucial role by emphasising that the compassionate treatment of animals is a core element of Islam and that unnecessary cruelty is not halal.</p>
<p><br></p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Correction:</strong> This article was updated at 4:47pm on May 9. A previous version of the article omitted the qualifier “by carcass weight” when stating the percentage of live meat exported from Australia. This error was introduced during the editing process.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96213/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Fisher received funding in 2008 from Meat and Livestock Australia in relation to reviewing their live export heat stress risk model. He has provided unpaid professional advice on expert panels to Government on live export and associated animal welfare issues.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Butt and Shakira Hussein do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the face of shocking footage of animals dying on ships, it seems impossible that our live export trade will remain as it is. Here are three areas to address.Andrew Butt, Associate Professor in Sustainability and Urban Planning, RMIT UniversityAndrew Fisher, Professor of Cattle & Sheep Production Medicine, The University of MelbourneShakira Hussein, McKenzie Postdoctoral Fellow; Writer and researcher, National Centre for Excellence in Islamic Studies, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/947302018-04-10T19:58:00Z2018-04-10T19:58:00ZAustralia’s history of live exports is more than two centuries old<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214023/original/file-20180410-75767-1u99jz6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A sheep undergoing live export in 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Animals Australia</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A recent episode of <a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/2018/04/08/21/06/60-minutes-live-export-sheep-vessel">60 Minutes</a> has captured public attention and the political agenda by airing dramatic video footage from Animals Australia, showing the fate of Australian animals in the live export trade.</p>
<p>Video shot secretly by a crew member shows sheep on five separate voyages from Fremantle to the Middle East last year. They are buffeted by the movement of the ship, strain to breathe in the hot, noisy and acrid atmosphere between decks and trample the dead and dying under their hooves.</p>
<p>But while these glimpses inside a transport ship are new, the practice of live animal export is as old as the European colonisation of Australia. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-live-animal-export-ever-be-humane-19804">Can live animal export ever be humane?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Animals of the new colony</h2>
<p>The first arrival of animals that would later be exported from Australia, including sheep, cattle and goats, can be dated with unusual precision to January 1788. </p>
<p>Like the convict workforce who made up the bulk of the human cargo on the First Fleet, the livestock, purchased mainly at the Cape of Good Hope, were considered necessary to transplant a British society and economy in Antipodean soil. Live animal import from other colonies, like India and Batavia, and from Europe continued throughout the first century of colonisation. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214031/original/file-20180410-75793-1his9jf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214031/original/file-20180410-75793-1his9jf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214031/original/file-20180410-75793-1his9jf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214031/original/file-20180410-75793-1his9jf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214031/original/file-20180410-75793-1his9jf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214031/original/file-20180410-75793-1his9jf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214031/original/file-20180410-75793-1his9jf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214031/original/file-20180410-75793-1his9jf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=602&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hoists were used to load and unload live animals in ports without purpose-built ramps. This photograph demonstrates the practice in India in 1895.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/wtc.4a02965.">Source: William Henry Jackson, World’s Transportation Commission photograph collection. Library of Congress</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Breeds that suited the climate and their roles in the colony, especially those that helped displace native plants and animals and Indigenous peoples, were sought after and carefully nurtured.</p>
<p>Gradually the inward flow of animals reversed. Flocks and herds increased to the point where some could be <a href="http://www.whpress.co.uk/EH/papers/830.pdf">sold on to other destinations</a>. Initially, this was to the other colonies Britain was establishing in the region, such as Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania), Western Australia, New Zealand and South Australia. These animals were primarily traded to establish new populations at their destinations.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.whpress.co.uk/EH/papers/830.pdf">Animals from New South Wales</a> were also sent to the French colony of New Caledonia, and in small numbers farther afield to Russia, Japan and India. As numbers rose, larger-scale live export for consumption became established. </p>
<h2>A hidden process</h2>
<p>As in the present, this trade had distinct phases, some more visible than others. The process began where the animals were raised, generally on lightly stocked rangelands in the interior. They were driven on foot or loaded onto rail carriages to be taken to ports, where they waited in open yards to be loaded onto ships. </p>
<p>Thus far, the animals were moving through public spaces, where their treatment and conditions could be seen and in some cases recorded. Members of the public could register their concerns and seek to have mistreatment addressed. And even in a period when animal welfare was still an emerging concept, some did. </p>
<p>Railcars laden with frightened stock led to <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1367032">complaints</a> about overcrowding and lack of access to food and water. One observer labelled such treatment “as gross a case of cruelty as it is possible to conceive”.</p>
<p>However, once the animals were hoisted or walked onto ships, they became invisible. No outsider could see them. Only those involved with the voyage knew how densely they were packed, how secure their pens were, whether their dung was cleared away, or how much food and water they received over journeys that could last for weeks. In the case of sheep, the advice was to pack them like wool bales, so tightly pressed together that they prevented one another from falling over. </p>
<p>In many cases, the animals were barely seen at all, except by one another, being left to their own devices on short voyages. During longer trips they would be tended to minimally, because of the toxic environment created below deck by what were termed their “exhalations of carbonic gases”. </p>
<p>Even the evidence of how many died on the voyages was hidden. Their bodies were thrown overboard before reaching port and few records were kept. </p>
<p>Animals carried on open decks could be seen while at the docks and had access to better-quality air, but were more vulnerable to high seas and inclement weather.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214032/original/file-20180410-75764-109qbzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214032/original/file-20180410-75764-109qbzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214032/original/file-20180410-75764-109qbzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214032/original/file-20180410-75764-109qbzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214032/original/file-20180410-75764-109qbzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=449&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214032/original/file-20180410-75764-109qbzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214032/original/file-20180410-75764-109qbzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/214032/original/file-20180410-75764-109qbzt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Animals carried on open decks could be seen while at the docks and had access to better-quality air, but were also vulnerable to high seas and inclement weather. Sheep in pens on a ship’s deck, Sydney Harbour, circa 1929.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sam Hood photograph, State Library of New South Wales, Home and Away, 4066.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the other end of the journey, the exported animals came back into view. This was often when the most useful accounts were recorded. Complaints about their poor condition, reduced numbers or the loss of entire shipments of animals were considered worthy of writing about in local newspapers by those who had eagerly awaited their arrival. It is at the receiving end of the export process that <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128922323">accusations</a> of flimsy pens, overcrowding or the loading of animals that were not fit for the voyage can be found. </p>
<p>Taking this longer view of the Australian live export trade shows just how extraordinary the opportunity to see what happens during live export is. Animals Australia has <a href="https://secure.animalsaustralia.org/documents/aamedia/20006_animals-australia-background-briefing-sheep-export.pdf">noted</a> that “Australia’s live sheep trade has operated for over five decades with only those financially invested in the trade having visual access to the conditions and welfare implications for the sheep on-board”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/assessing-australias-regulation-of-live-animal-exports-16427">Assessing Australia’s regulation of live animal exports</a>
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</em>
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<p>This has been an issue for much longer than 50 years, but it’s now possible for outsiders – including farmers, politicians and members of the public – to see the appalling conditions of the live export trade for themselves. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is based on a blog post originally published by <a href="https://whitehorsepress.blog/2018/02/19/hazardous-commodities-australian-live-animal-export-from-the-long-nineteenth-century-to-today/">White Horse Press</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94730/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nancy Cushing has received funding from the State Library of NSW. </span></em></p>Footage of sheep transport conditions have shocked many, but live export has a long history in Australia.Nancy Cushing, Associate professor, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/643162016-08-24T20:24:46Z2016-08-24T20:24:46ZDespite China free trade agreement Australian beef producers are missing out<p>Despite a free trade agreement dropping tariffs from Australian beef imports to China, Australia’s ability to supply China has gone backwards. <a href="http://data.daff.gov.au/data/warehouse/agcomd9abcc004/agcomd9abcc20160621_5B9fz/AgCommodities201606_Tables_v1.0.0.xls">In 2014-15, the volume</a> of Australia’s beef exports to China fell by 28%. And <a href="http://statistics.mla.com.au/Report/List">according to the latest data</a> from Meat and Livestock Australia, in the first seven months of 2016, Australia exported 33% less than the same period in 2015. </p>
<p>The cattle and beef trade is a poster child for Australia’s next-generation engagement with China. But an <a href="http://www.australiachinarelations.org/content/sino-australian-cattle-and-beef-relationship">independent report</a> explains the complexity of the industry preventing Australian beef producers from benefiting.</p>
<p>China’s growing demand for beef stems from its middle class, which will continue to expand for decades to come. Between 2011-12 and 2013-14, the <a href="http://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/publications/display?url=http://143.188.17.20/anrdl/DAFFService/display.php?fid=pb_agcomd9abcc004201312_11a.xml">volume of our beef exports</a> to China increased 20-fold. The report emphasises this spike in trading was mostly a coincidence of short-term factors.</p>
<p>Drought conditions in Australia led to a jump in slaughter numbers. But this also meant that when the rains returned, herds needed to be restocked. </p>
<p>The Chinese market has also proven quirky. Demand suffered from an anti-corruption drive launched at the end of 2012 that slashed banqueting by government officials. Beef was a popular luxury item on the menu. </p>
<p>Most Chinese are not acquiring an everyday taste for beef. A <a href="http://www.agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/agriculture-food/food/publications/food-consumption-trends-in-china/food-consumption-trends-in-china-v2.pdf">different study</a> found that while the average urban Chinese was eating 28% more beef in 2010 than 2000, they still consumed eight times more pork, a relative preference that hadn’t changed. </p>
<p>Some of the much-heralded trade policy breakthroughs may also not be as liberating as hoped. </p>
<p>In July last year a new health protocol was struck that made Australia the only country legally able to export live feeder and slaughter cattle to China. Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-20/australia-to-earn-242b-from-live-cattle-exports-to-china3a-jo/6635030">said that within a decade</a> the head of cattle going to China could reach one million a year, up from around 120,000. </p>
<p>While the health protocol makes a live cattle trade technically possible, its details make the logistics costly. The <a href="http://www.australiachinarelations.org/content/sino-australian-cattle-and-beef-relationship">latest report’s authors</a> consider that exports on any significant scale – let alone one million head a year – are highly unlikely.</p>
<p>Animal welfare is <a href="http://www.australiachinarelations.org/content/sino-australian-cattle-and-beef-relationship">less a concern for live cattle exports</a> to China. This is because large and modern feedlots and abattoirs will take ownership of cattle, unlike the small, individual butchers seen throughout Southeast Asia. </p>
<p>In December 2015, the Chinese government <a href="http://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/chafta/fact-sheets/Documents/fact-sheet-agriculture-and-processed-food.pdf">committed to eliminating</a> tariffs on imports of Australian beef, as part of the historic <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/chafta-13573">China-Australia Free Trade Agreement</a>. </p>
<p>But even the free trade agreement may not provide an advantage for long. Food price inflation and the fact that beef is a staple food for some of China’s minorities, are causing the Chinese government to abandon protection for the domestic industry generally. </p>
<p>While Australia has a head start, competition is rising. Singled out for special mention by the report is Brazil. In 2012, Brazilian exports to China were suspended due to disease but market access was regained in the middle of 2015. By September 2015, the volume of Brazilian frozen beef exports to China already exceeded that from Australia. </p>
<p>Australian beef producers also need to worry about Uruguay, Canada, Argentina, the US and even India. </p>
<p>Despite all these challenges, the report is fundamentally optimistic in its outlook.</p>
<p>China’s own beef industry – which produces three times more output than Australia’s – is shrinking as farmers take up more lucrative opportunities elsewhere in the economy.</p>
<p>Urbanisation also still has a long way to run . Only 56% of China’s population living in cities, compared with 89% in Australia. The average Chinese urban dweller consumes four times as much beef as their rural counterpart. </p>
<p>And for all the talk of a slowing Chinese economy, the emergence of China’s middle class remains on track. The <a href="https://www.oecd.org/dev/44457738.pdf">OECD says</a> between 2009 and 2030, its ranks will swell by more than 850 million. Compare that with only an additional 16 million in Europe. </p>
<p>We could still sabotage of our own chances. </p>
<p>The report concludes that Chinese investment in Australia’s beef industry, from farms to abattoirs, would help to make the trade potential a reality. Earlier this month Tony Mahar, chief executive of the National Farmers Federation, <a href="http://www.afr.com/opinion/farmers-need-fdi-government-needs-to-sell-the-community-on-its-benefits-20160815-gqsiyx">made the same point</a> in arguing for fewer restrictions on foreign investment in the agricultural sector as a whole. </p>
<p>Just a few weeks ago, Treasurer Scott Morrison approved the sale of the Carlton Hill cattle station to a Chinese buyer. The new owner <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-03/carlton-hill-sells-to-chinese-interests/7685622">immediately leased back</a> the station’s cattle production operations to the previous owner, Australia’s Consolidated Pastoral Company, recognising the experience and expertise they had in running the business. </p>
<p>But for Treasurer Morrison it was a <a href="http://www.lowyinterpreter.org/post/2016/05/03/Knockback-of-Dakangs-bid-for-Kidman-cattle-stations-doesnt-bear-scrutiny.aspx">different story</a> back in March when he rejected a Chinese bid for S Kidman and Co. That’s money still sitting in Shanghai. Instead it could be here, hard at work making more beef to sell to China.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64316/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Laurenceson works for the Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI) at the University of Technology Sydney, which commissioned the University of Queensland's China Agricultural Research Group to write a report on the Sino-Australian beef and cattle relationship. The content of this article is based on the findings of that report.
</span></em></p>Australia is not mustering the exports of beef it should under the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement, a new report finds.James Laurenceson, Deputy Director and Professor, Australia-China Relations Institute (ACRI), University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/600112016-05-25T13:54:32Z2016-05-25T13:54:32ZBarnaby Joyce missteps, linking live cattle suspension and boat arrivals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/123961/original/image-20160525-25205-1jr36hl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C74%2C960%2C571&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Richard Di Natale, Barnaby Joyce and Joel Fitzgibbon walk together ahead of the regional leader's debate in Goulburn. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Twitter/Richard Di Natale</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The election campaign’s day 17 notably belonged to Barnaby Joyce, and not just for the package of concessional loans he announced for struggling dairy farmers.</p>
<p>For light relief, the day delivered another episode of the Depp-Joyce show. Appearing on American TV Johnny Depp described Joyce as looking like he was “inbred with a tomato”. “It’s not a criticism. I was a little worried … Just he might explode,” the actor quipped to an appreciative audience.</p>
<p>Derision from Depp is instantly returned in mockery from Joyce, who reached for a horror character and shot back: “I think I’m turning into Johnny Depp’s Hannibal Lecter”.</p>
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<p>Depp’s reflections on Joyce won’t do Joyce any harm with the voters of New England, where he’s under challenge from former independent member Tony Windsor.</p>
<p>It’s another story with this week’s poll reflections on Malcolm Turnbull’s attributes.</p>
<p>Essential and Newspoll have documented a cooling on Turnbull’s qualities, providing some context for his falling approval ratings.</p>
<p>Tuesday’s Essential found that over the last three weeks there has been a seven-point rise in those saying he is out of touch with ordinary people (to 63%) and a five-point increase in the proportion who find him arrogant (to 51%). Those who said he understands the problems facing Australia fell five points to 47%. Turnbull is well ahead of Shorten on a number of attributes – it’s the movements that are interesting. Shorten’s numbers didn’t change significantly.</p>
<p>In Wednesday’s Newspoll the figures on Turnbull’s attributes were mostly going in the wrong direction, while Shorten’s were moving the right way. For example, since February those who see Turnbull as arrogant has risen from 55% to 60%; the proportion who think he is in touch with voters has fallen from 54% to 51%, while those rating him as trustworthy went from 59% to 56%.</p>
<p>Shorten’s score on trustworthiness rose from 44% to 49%; he has had a substantial jump, from 48% to 60%, in those who describe him as in touch with voters. In February, Turnbull led Shorten 54-48% on being in touch with voters; now, Shorten is ahead of Turnbull 60-51%.</p>
<p>Turnbull is much more disciplined than he used to be, but he might have found the campaign trail character-forming on Wednesday.</p>
<p>It started with the ever so mutually polite encounter with Alan Jones. It was their first broadcast since their recent rapprochement-of-convenience and their egos were on strong leashes. Turnbull will be back with Jones during the campaign, but who knows what will happen after, if Turnbull is re-elected and Jones returns to his aggressive self?</p>
<p>The Liberals, who’d been scoring off Labor’s senator Nova Peris pulling the pin on Tuesday, lost a candidate of their own on Wednesday. Carolyn Currie, in the new notionally Labor regional NSW seat of Whitlam, was a small fish. But any drop out is unhelpful, especially when she suggests the area could be best represented by an independent or a Green.</p>
<p>More seriously, Turnbull had to deal with the aftermath of Tuesday’s fiasco, when the claim by Treasurer Scott Morrison and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann of a A$67 billion black hole in Labor’s numbers spectacularly fell apart.</p>
<p>Turnbull dug in. Pushed to say whether he stood by the $67 billion figure, he said: “Well $67 billion is the list of the measures that they have either blocked or proposed or said they want us to roll back. Now if they are changing their position or they have new promises and want to abandon old promises they are entitled to do that. But they should spell it out.”</p>
<p>Pointing to Friday’s debate between Morrison and Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen, Turnbull challenged Bowen to “spell out exactly what his alternative budget looks like”.</p>
<p>For the government to produce a shonky number and then say it is up to Labor to discredit it is outrageous, but we’re already well into the say-anything-and-hope-it-hurts stage of this campaign.</p>
<p>The Morrison-Bowen debate, which precedes Sunday’s Turnbull-Shorten debate, has taken on extra significance after Tuesday’s embarrassing performance. Morrison won’t want a loss.</p>
<p>Avoiding pitfalls is a major test in election debates – one that Joyce failed in Wednesday night’s regional leaders face-off in Goulburn when he was pitted against Labor’s agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon and Greens leader Richard Di Natale.</p>
<p>As exchanges heated up, Joyce linked Labor’s suspension of the live export trade to Indonesia and asylum seeker boats from there. “Might I remind you that when we closed down the live animal export industry, it was around about the same time that we started seeing a lot of people arriving in boats in Australia,” he said.</p>
<p>It was dangerous ground, implying causality and involvement by the Indonesian government. Joyce had indeed exploded.</p>
<p>Moderator Chris Uhlmann asked Joyce: “Do you realise you are suggesting the Indonesian Government then unleashed the boats in response?”</p>
<p>Joyce replied: “I think it’s absolutely the case that we created extreme bad will with Indonesia when we closed down the live animal export industry.”</p>
<p>Later, he said: “I believe that the independents and the Greens and the Labor Party, when they closed down the live animal export industry, created immense bad will, and our capacity to manage other problems which became present were affected.”</p>
<iframe src="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/5be85-5f8751?from=yiiadmin" data-link="https://www.podbean.com/media/player/5be85-5f8751?from=yiiadmin" height="100" width="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player"></iframe><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60011/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
The election campaign’s day 17 notably belonged to Barnaby Joyce, and not just for the package of concessional loans he announced for struggling dairy farmers. For light relief, the day delivered another…Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/447112015-07-17T04:51:18Z2015-07-17T04:51:18ZBlame poor policy, not politics, for Jakarta’s 80% cut in Australian cattle imports<p>The Indonesian government has sharply <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/indonesia-dramatically-cuts-live-cattle-imports-to-only-50000/story-e6frg6nf-1227440856986">cut quotas</a> for live cattle imports from Australia to one-fifth of those in the previous quarter. The reaction in Australia has been mixed. Some, like Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, questioned whether increased tensions between the two countries were a factor in the decision. </p>
<p>Others closer to the industry, like Australian Livestock Exporting Council chief executive Alison Penfold, <a href="http://www.afr.com/news/politics/live-cattle-industry-shocked-as-indonesia-cuts-export-trade-20150714-gibpqa">dismissed the suggestion</a>, saying the decision reflects a stricter implementation of a long-standing – but unsuccessful – Indonesian <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/app5.29/full">policy of self-sufficiency</a>.
Cutbacks in Australian imports to Indonesia have occurred in the past even when relations were very good.</p>
<p>Some fall in the quota should have been expected after the peak-demand period for beef associated with Ramadan in the previous quarter. This would have happened regardless of any political payback or stricter self-sufficiency policy. </p>
<p>If the policy is to be more strictly applied then it makes more sense to do this after Ramadan when demand is lower. In 2013, the Agriculture Ministry <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/app5.29/full">tightened the import policy</a> before Ramadan. The resultant high beef prices from insufficient imports angered consumers and led to the Trade Ministry, which was put in charge of a one-stop shop on the issue, overriding the Agriculture Ministry and increasing the quota.</p>
<p>Very high prices also encouraged the slaughter of breeding cattle by poor farmers with short investment horizons, who make up the majority of the sector. This put the objective of sustainable self-sufficiency even further beyond reach.</p>
<p>It was also announced around the 2013 reforms in the process of setting a quota that a proposed reference price mechanism (imports will be increased if prices get too high) would be developed. However, such a mechanism will face the same short-term problems experienced in 2013. The market had little notice of an increase in quotas (eight to 12 months would be ideal) and these could not be filled. </p>
<h2>More evidence against political payback</h2>
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<span class="caption">Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel’s statement on possibly increasing the quota points to a policy-driven decision.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.kemendag.go.id/id/about-us/main-office">Indonesian government</a></span>
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<p>Indonesian Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-15/indonesia-could-increase-cattle-imports/6620326">made a statement</a>, following Australia’s reaction this week, that evidence of low (difficult to measure) stocks and rising prices could lead to an increase in the quota, perhaps up to 200,000 head from the current 50,000. Such an increase would be based on the reference price mechanism. This is further evidence for the decision being based on a self-sufficiency policy rather than political payback.</p>
<p>If the political explanation also holds true then it would be expected that constraints would have been applied to other important trades. That has happened in the past. For instance, Australian horticultural imports were forced to enter through a port some distance from the main Jakarta market.</p>
<p>Why is the issue of why the quota was cut important? One reason is that this will influence whether the response is more about diplomacy or economic in nature, such as policies to facilitate restructuring of the industry. Such adjustments are easier at the Australian end, when world demand and prices for cattle and beef are high as they are now. </p>
<p>One key principle of good trade policy, often overlooked, is that it should relate to trade and not diplomacy, the environment, labour or other non-trade issues. Such issues are best addressed more directly with diplomatic, environmental and labour policies.</p>
<h2>How should Indonesia achieve its goals?</h2>
<p>There needs to be <a href="http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2014/09/13/refining-the-role-of-government-in-the-australia-indonesia-live-cattle-trade/">less government involvement</a> in the live cattle trade as with other commodities like grains.</p>
<p>Government involvement has only led to increased uncertainty, higher economic costs, shrinkage of the market and greater opportunities for trying to leverage non-trade policies off trade policies. <a href="http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2014/09/13/refining-the-role-of-government-in-the-australia-indonesia-live-cattle-trade/">Examples</a> include environmental policy in the case of Australia and self-sufficiency in the case of Indonesia. </p>
<p>Self-sufficiency is also best promoted more directly through policies aimed at improving breeding, feeding efficiency etc – say via increased research and development – not through trade constraints. Interest rate subsidies have been applied up to now, but have been shown to be a very costly and ineffective policy approach for stimulating increased production. Such subsidies need to be around <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/app5.29/full">A$1 billion a year</a> to be effective but then involve half this amount in welfare losses. </p>
<p>Greater integration through investment and technical transfer that takes account of each country’s comparative advantages – Australia’s live cattle trade and Indonesia’s cattle feeding and processing industries – could better meet Indonesia’s beef security goals, including in terms of sustainability. This would also present strong processed meat opportunities in rich neighbours to the benefit of all countries involved. </p>
<p>A continuation of the recent volatile and uncertain trade will be to the detriment of both countries. Indonesia would lose a food-secure, reliable livestock supply to which value was added for the off chance of becoming self-sufficient but with higher prices and economic costs plus lower consumption. Australia would exit a significant trade for other costlier but more certain markets.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44711/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ray Trewin received funding from ACIAR in the late 2000's for research on Plausible agricultural futures in Indonesia that included various commodities like beef cattle.</span></em></p>There needs to be less Indonesian government involvement in the live cattle trade, as with other commodities like grains.Ray Trewin, Visiting fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/446582015-07-16T00:11:18Z2015-07-16T00:11:18ZAustralia should prepare for lower beef export quotas: the view from Indonesia<p>Indonesia’s decision to <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/indonesia-dramatically-cuts-live-cattle-imports-to-only-50000/story-e6frg6nf-1227440856986">slash the import quota</a> for Australian beef cattle to 50,000 for the third quarter has little to do with the tense relationship between the two countries. </p>
<p>Anticipating high demand for beef for Ramadan and the Eid festival in June and July, Indonesia stocked up by increasing the import quota from Australia in the second quarter. As a result, Indonesia’s Agriculture Ministry is confident that supply for beef is assured for up to five days after Eid, when demand for beef will decrease again. </p>
<h2>Beef self-sufficiency</h2>
<p>Restrictions on imports by means of quotas are part of the Indonesian government’s policy to reach self-sufficiency in beef production. Indonesia has long wanted to to be self-sufficient for beef but has repeatedly missed its targets in 2010 and in 2014. </p>
<p>Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman <a href="http://bisniskeuangan.kompas.com/read/2015/03/30/201258726/Dua.Tahun.ke.Depan.Indonesia.Tak.Impor.Daging.Sapi.">said</a> in March this year that Indonesia might no longer import beef cattle in a year or two. </p>
<p>According to the Indonesian government, the goal of being self-sufficient will be met when local farmers are able to meet 90% of national beef consumption. Indonesia’s cattle farmers currently supply nearly 80% of beef consumed in Indonesia. </p>
<p>The government feels the need to be self-sufficient because of a growing national demand for beef. Between 1999 and 2010 beef consumption increased by 4.66% per year. Meanwhile, domestic production rose by only 3.2% per year. Indonesia’s beef imports increased by 21.58% annually to meet national demand. </p>
<p>Australia has been the main supplier of imported beef cattle, but Indonesia regards being dependent on imports as risky. Prices of beef can surge uncontrollably whenever the rupiah is weak against the Australian dollar or when import tariffs rise.</p>
<p>Besides import quotas, the Indonesian government provides production subsidies for cattle farmers. The government also helps farmers use technology in breeding cattle using artificial insemination. </p>
<p>In 2011, more than 90% of cattle farmers in Indonesia, or around 5.7 million of them, were traditional small-scale farmers, with an average of three cows per farm. Indonesia had only 234 large-scale farms, with an average of 734 cows per farm.</p>
<p>Recent technological improvements must have achieved some success in increasing domestic production. Indonesian Trade Minister Rahmat Gobel, responding to questions about import quota cuts, <a href="http://portalkbr.com/nasional/07-2015/kemendag_evaluasi_kebutuhan_sapi/73653.html">said</a> cattle farmers in West Nusa Tenggara have unsold livestock while Indonesia imports cattle from Australia. </p>
<h2>Diversification of cattle imports</h2>
<p>Indonesia is also thinking about diversifying its sources of cattle imports. Indonesia allows cattle imports only from countries that are certified free from mouth and foot disease. This bars cattle from countries such as India from entering its market. </p>
<p>However, Indonesia imports sausages from Malaysian producers that use beef from India. Local processed meat producers in Indonesia <a href="http://www.cnnindonesia.com/ekonomi/20150708160453-92-65227/produsen-sosis-lokal-ingin-gunakan-daging-sapi-asal-india/">have been lobbying the government</a> to allow cheaper imports from India to enter Indonesia. </p>
<p>Political tension between Indonesia and Australia does not factor in Indonesia’s decision to cut the cattle import quota. It is based on national interest in achieving food security and finding importers that give the best price. </p>
<p>As Indonesia aims for self-sufficiency in beef and looks to diversify its sources of imports, Australia should prepare for a decline in cattle exports to Indonesia in the coming years.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44658/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rina Oktaviani receives funding from Australia Centre of International Agriculture Research. </span></em></p>Restriction on import quotas is part of Indonesian government’s policy to reach beef self-sufficiency.Rina Oktaviani, Professor of Agricultural Economics, IPB UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/446722015-07-15T03:56:48Z2015-07-15T03:56:48ZLean times ahead for Australian cattle as Indonesia turns to domestic farming<p>Indonesian trade minister Rachmat Gobel’s <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-14/barnaby-joyce-searching-cattle-markets-indonesia-slashes-imports/6617430">decision</a>, announced yesterday, to slash quotas for beef cattle imports from Australia to 50,000 for the third quarter of this year – down from 180,000 for the same period in 2014 – has left Australia without a buyer for much of its current herd. </p>
<p>Officials in Jakarta have reportedly denied that the cutback is due to diplomatic tension between the two countries in the wake of Indonesia’s execution of drug traffickers and Australia’s policy of turning back asylum boats. Gobel has said the number of cattle permits could <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-15/indonesia-could-increase-cattle-imports/6620326">potentially rise again</a> if there is enough demand.</p>
<p>But Indonesia says its internal beef market is now saturated, after an intake of 250,000 head of Australian cattle in the second quarter of this year, as well as high levels of domestic production. That is on top of the <a href="http://www.livecorp.com.au/industry-information/industry-statistics/cattle-statistics">221,000 animals</a> already imported from Australia between in the first quarter of 2015.</p>
<p>Indonesian consumers will not be quite so convinced, however: beef prices have <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-03-03/beef-prices-in-indonesia-rising-sharply-concerns-for-ramadan/6273314">already risen this year</a> in response to shortages. The end of Ramadan this Saturday will produce a surge in demand (and price) as Muslims celebrate the Eid festival. </p>
<h2>Indonesian farming, at a price</h2>
<p>Indonesia’s drive for self-sufficiency is not limited to beef, but extends to staple products such as rice, and the effects go far beyond its import markets. Domestic production is focused on land-poor farmers with limited education keeping small numbers of cattle in makeshift housing. Rainforest destruction to clear land suitable for the growing of cattle feed is one of the only ways to expand production, with devastating effects on native flora and fauna, including the iconic orang utans. </p>
<p>Indonesia offers financial support to help cattle producers increase production, but this has not yet been enough for the country to become self-sufficient in beef. As a result deadlines to achieve this have had to be <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/indo-pacific-governance/policy/Risti_Permani.pdf">extended by the government</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88450/original/image-20150715-21738-7l1jjz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88450/original/image-20150715-21738-7l1jjz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88450/original/image-20150715-21738-7l1jjz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88450/original/image-20150715-21738-7l1jjz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88450/original/image-20150715-21738-7l1jjz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88450/original/image-20150715-21738-7l1jjz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88450/original/image-20150715-21738-7l1jjz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88450/original/image-20150715-21738-7l1jjz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=496&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Estimated cattle exports from Australia to Indonesia, 1970-2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.livecorp.com.au/industry-information/industry-statistics/cattle-statistics">FAO/Livecorp/MLA</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although these statistics show an increase in Australia’s cattle exports to Indonesia, the recent fluctuations in Indonesian quotas emphasise the volatility of the live export trade. This highlights the risk of concentrating Australian exports into a limited number of markets. </p>
<p>The Indonesian market too is changing, from a demand for fresh meat to one for refrigerated and vacuum-packed products. A key to this is the availability of refrigerators and supermarkets, with <a href="https://erywijaya.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/e-028.pdf">a majority of Indonesian households</a> now having at least one refrigerator.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, northern Australia needs to reduce cattle numbers, amid a major drought affecting much of Queensland. As well as having a damaging effect on the livelihoods of the producers, a limited market risks the welfare of the cattle because producers are reluctant to buy feed supplements if the market is uncertain. </p>
<p>Some producers may get caught out if they cannot get cattle off their properties before the wet season begins in November, and may not be able to provide enough fodder. This will create welfare problems for cattle remaining on the property.</p>
<p>Alternative markets will be hard for exporters to find, as the cattle sent to Indonesia are young and destined to spend time in feedlots before slaughter. The low value of the Australian dollar has encouraged markets for beef cattle to grow in several other Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia, but spare feedlot capacity will be hard to find. </p>
<p>Abandonment of Australia’s live export trade and a focus on exporting meat instead of cattle would benefit producers by stabilising the trade, with further benefits to the welfare of cattle that have to endure the live export process, as well as to Indonesia’s native forest flora and fauna.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44672/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clive Phillips is on the Scientific Panel for Voiceless. He has received funding from MLA/Livecorp/the Humane Slaughter Association for research into live export. </span></em></p>Indonesia’s shock decision to cut imports of Australian beef signals two things: Indonesia’s desire to focus on domestic cattle farming, and Australia’s lack of alternative options for exporting its own herd.Clive Phillips, Professor of Animal Welfare, Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/446672015-07-14T10:25:18Z2015-07-14T10:25:18ZBarnaby Joyce faces new battle after Indonesia knock to live cattle trade<p>The startling fall in prospective Australian live cattle exports to Indonesia has come as a surprise to the government and immediately prompted the question of whether tensions in the relationship – especially over boat turnbacks and the executions of two Australians – have been at play here.</p>
<p>But it is Indonesia’s nationalistic view about food security that is considered the significant factor in the decline in the import quota from 282,000 last quarter – with actual exports about 250,000 – to 50,000 for the quarter starting July.</p>
<p>Indonesian President Joko Widodo had food security as part of the platform on which he was elected.</p>
<p>In practice there is tension between Indonesia’s desire to move to self-sufficiency and the practicalities of doing so. This saw a relatively low 100,000 permits issued for cattle from Australia for the first quarter of 2015 become a greatly increased number in the second quarter.</p>
<p>There is also a difference of attitude between the Indonesian agriculture ministry and the trade ministry. The latter is much more in favour of cattle imports. The current quarter’s low figure suggests the agriculture ministry had the upper hand. The importers were hoping to get permits for more than 200,000 cattle. The recent annual average for this quarter has been nearly 135,000.</p>
<p>None of the three ministers – Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Treasurer Joe Hockey – who commented on the issue on Tuesday provided any detailed explanation for the cut.</p>
<p>Bishop was adamant that it was not about the general bilateral relationship, saying it was a matter of trade negotiations, but did not elaborate. Joyce said that “Indonesia has clearly stated that their aspiration is to be self-sufficient in cattle, in beef”.</p>
<p>One reason, apart from a lack of hard information, why the ministers were reticent could be the government’s reluctance to reflect publicly on domestic Indonesian politics. Joyce said: “I’m not here to comment on the internal operations of another nation”.</p>
<p>Indonesia’s ambassador to Australia Nadjib Riphat Kesoema said in a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-14/indonesia-ambassador-denies-relationship-behind-cattle-quota-cut/6619808">statement to the ABC</a> that the quota cut “is not in any way related to political conditions nor to the state of Australia-Indonesia relations”, but was made “on the basis of economics [sic] considerations, with the aim of maintaining the right supply of meat for Indonesian consumers”.</p>
<p>Joyce says he is working to find “alternate venues” for the cattle. The government points out the Indonesian action shows the importance of broadening the live cattle export market, saying six new markets have been added under it – Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Cambodia, Bahrain and Thailand – although Lebanon and Iran are yet to start operating.</p>
<p>But Indonesia is big and vital as a market, taking more than half of Australia’s annual cattle exports. Joyce wants to find ways to put more stability and predictability into it, if possible by having the quota set on an annual rather than a quarterly basis. He had hoped to visit Indonesia earlier this year but that became impossible because of the execution issue. It’s now more necessary that he goes.</p>
<p>“Our number one goal is to make sure that we have a long-term and an engaged relationship with the shoppers of Jakarta and the government of Indonesia so we can be reliable suppliers and reliable venue,” Joyce said. Whether this will be possible in light of the Widodo government’s domestic priorities remains to be seen. On Tuesday, Joyce was still trying to reach the agriculture minister by telephone.</p>
<p>Joyce’s performance on the cattle issue, and more generally, will be closely watched by colleagues, given that his outspoken defiance of the rules of cabinet solidarity over the Shenhua coal mine project (located in his New England seat) has raised questions about his ability to be a “team player”.</p>
<p>Joyce’s stance on the mine, which was approved by Environment Minister Greg Hunt and appears certain to get a licence from the Baird government, has led some commentators to say he should have resigned from the frontbench.</p>
<p>Now it is <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-14/coal-mine-debate-barnaby-joyce-leadership/6619210">being used to question</a> whether Joyce would be a suitable deputy prime minister, the position he would hold in a Coalition government if he replaced Nationals leader Warren Truss. There has been speculation that Truss, who has previously suffered ill health, will quit politics at the election.</p>
<p>Tough independent stands have been a characteristic of some Nationals over the years. They can win approval from colleagues and the party’s base. But they can also backfire, giving ammunition to enemies and rivals.</p>
<p>This should have been a good time for Joyce, with the release of the long-awaited white paper on agriculture. Instead, that has been overshadowed by the ban on his appearing on Q&A, the mine row, and now the cattle problem.</p>
<p>Joyce, whose long-held aim has been to become leader of his party when Truss retires, suddenly finds himself in a very testing and risky period of his career.</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/politics-podcast-christophe-lecourtier-on-the-2015-paris-climate-conference-44598">Listen to the newest Politics with Michelle Grattan podcast, with French Ambassador Christophe Lecourtier, here</a>.</strong></p>
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The fall in prospective Australian live cattle exports to Indonesia has come as a surprise to the government and immediately prompted the question of whether tensions in the relationship are at play.Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.