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On 1 July 2024, the Federal Government…
Live sheep export

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  4. RSPCA welcomes Minister Collins to…

The RSPCA has today thanked outgoing Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt for his commitment to improving animal welfare, particularly his leadership in achieving the promised legislation to end live sheep export.

“We’re grateful to Minister Watt for recognising the importance of animal welfare and community support in modern agriculture,” said RSPCA Australia CEO Richard Mussell.

“This reflects the reality that good animal welfare is crucial if we are to have a thriving agricultural sector.

“It also reflects the fact that the vast majority of Australians care about animal welfare, including when it comes to animals farmed for food or fibre.

“In particular, Minister Watt’s leadership in championing an end date to live sheep export – a cruel and unfixable trade – will not be forgotten. This was a decision firmly backed by the science and evidence and one that has the support of the majority of Australians.”

Mr Mussell also welcomed the incoming new Minister for Agriculture, the Hon. Julie Collins MP, as well as Senator Anthony Chisholm as Assistant Minister, and said that the RSPCA looked forward to working constructively with both ministers and their teams.

“Like her predecessor, we will work with Minister Collins to ensure animal welfare is at the forefront of decisions about agricultural policy, and we will continue to push the Federal Government to show more national leadership on animal welfare.

"We also know Minister Watt started a process of reinvigorating the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy, and recently led discussions with the state and territory Ministers on the importance of animal welfare in agriculture.

“We look forward to working with Minister Collins and her team on continuing to champion these efforts which will help achieve long-lasting improvements for Australia's farm animals."

“For animals to be protected and community expectations met, national leadership on animal welfare is critical. And integral to this is ensuring there is continuous improvement, coordination and consistency across states and territories.

“There are still many animal welfare issues that remain unaddressed, such as fixing our broken system of national standards and guidelines for farm animal welfare. The RSPCA, along with the rest of the animal welfare sector, will continue to work constructively with Minister Collins and her colleagues across the Parliament to make this happen.”

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