The live export industry has been advised to drive rogue operators out of its fold before it can expect to earn the trust of the RSPCA and the wider Australian community.
RSPCA Australia President, Lynne Bradshaw, called on the industry to demonstrate a serious commitment to animal welfare standards expected by Australians.
Mrs Bradshaw was speaking to live export industry operators at the Livexchange conference 2013 in Townsville today.
“What we want to see from the industry is more action demonstrating a genuine commitment to animal welfare,” Mrs Bradshaw said. “We are aware of Australian live export operators flagrantly breaching the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance Scheme (ESCAS), with the latest incident being in Jordan where sheep were sold outside the system and cruelly slaughtered in the streets.
“Despite this, the industry continues to talk about animal welfare improvements while taking no action against the rogue operators who are continuing to bring their trade into disrepute.
“The RSPCA and the Australian community are waiting for the industry to walk their talk on animal welfare.
“What we have in place now are government regulations that provide the minimum welfare standards for Australian animals and some operators cannot meet even those basic standards,” Mrs Bradshaw said.
Media contact: Elise Meakin, 0419 748 907, [email protected].
Subscribe today and we’ll keep you updated on all the latest campaigns, events and news.