Live ex report shows Independent Observer program failing Australian sheep and producers

A report released by the Inspector-General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports highlights ongoing and systemic failures within Australia’s Independent Observer program – demonstrating yet again that live sheep export can not, and will not, be ever effectively regulated.

The report highlights the inadequacy of the Independent Observer Program, implemented in 2018, finding that it does not appear to provide acceptable levels of assurance regarding the health and welfare of livestock across all markets.

“This makes a mockery of any claim from live exporters that they’re effectively regulated,” said RSPCA Australia Chief Science Officer Dr Suzie Fowler.

“How can the Australian community have any confidence in the regulatory system, when the one source of publicly available information we have – from Independent Observers – is so conclusively failing at its purpose?

“And even then, we only know about the voyages with an observer on board – from April 2018 to May 2023 that was only 53 out of 172 live sheep export journeys. This completely undermines the intent of the program, which is to provide transparency and confidence that live exporters are adhering to animal welfare requirements.

“To quote the report, the fact that IOs are not being deployed on most voyages that meet the criteria for a deployment is evidence that the program’s assurance objectives are not being met.

“From the data that is available, we can see that there are clearly ongoing animal welfare issues and continued risks with every live sheep export journey. Including 80% of reports indicating sheep starving on board and at least 60% reporting heat stress.

“There is a serious problem with transparency in this notoriously secretive industry. The Independent Observer program is clearly failing to provide that much-needed transparency.

“For example, IO footage released under FOI this year from a voyage in 2018 showed several serious sheep welfare issues including indicators of severe heat stress – a very different picture to footage posted on social media by the live exporters at the time from the same voyage.

“Rather than being transparent about this and releasing the IO footage, the regulator and the live export industry fought tooth and nail to keep the footage secret – it was only after a lengthy battle that the RSPCA won access to the footage, six years later.

“To quote then Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud in 2018, when this program was introduced – if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear from being transparent.

“This report confirms that Australia’s live sheep export trade can not be effectively regulated to adequately mitigate the inherent risks to sheep. This is why it’s so important that live sheep export is phased out by 1 May 2028 in favour of a more humane chilled and boxed meat trade, a move we and the Australian community wholeheartedly support.”

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Live ex report shows Independent Observer program failing Australian sheep and producers

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