@bushies.girlwrote:
I saw an interview re Live Trade Export, once these poor animals are gone from the farm, no one seems to care what happens to them .... As one farmer said "Once the cheque is in my bank account, they are no longer my problem" ...... says it all really ๐
Sheep aren't the most robust of animals, they can die at the "drop of hat" particularly if they are stressed, so goodness knows how many actually make it to their destination
It's all very well to continually bash the Labor Gov for the action they took re Live Trade, at least they tried to do something to alleviate the animals' suffering.
When you are in government you should be taking reasoned, responsible actions to address problems such as those exposed in the live cattle industry, not act like a bunch of impulsive school kids. Sure you can come back with cheap retorts about decisions the Liberal party have made, but they havnt resulted in hundreds of thousands of animals suffering with many starving to death.
Your statement above that no-one cares once the cheque is in the bank, may be true for some farmers, but there are many other farmers who feel the way I do and have quietly refused to sell livestock to the trade. Its just that they dont get interviewed for the shock value media.
It is precisely because I care for the animals in my care that I am still so genuinely angry that thousands of cattle suffered terribly because of Labors ridiculously stupid actions. To say " they tried to do something " is a bit dis-ingenuous. What they tried to do was score a few cheap Greens type votes by jumping on a political band wagon and to he!! with the consequences for hundreds of thousands of cattle and the people who farm them.
Anyone with even a modicome of intelligence could see that to introduce an immediate ban on the export of cattle that had no-where else to go, with long term breeding programs and hundreds of thousands of animals already in the pipe line, would have to quickly result in an animal crisis of immense proportions.
In response to your other post questioning what should have happened. Labor could have announced that due to the huge numbers of stock on Australias soil an immediate ban could not be implemented, but announce the industry would be phased out over a two year time frame. They could have announced that they would work urgently with the Australian food processing industry to ensure that new meat processing facilities would be built in the north to handle the stock that where currently being exported under the live ship trade and send trade delegations to our main consumer countries to sure up supply contracts for processed meat in replacement of live cattle & sheep. They could work with our recipient countries such as Indonesia to offer preferential treatment for foreign workers from those countries to enter Australia on 457 work visas to work in the processing facilities. Around half of Australias meat processing workers already come here on 457 visas as Australians are reluctant to work in the industry, so that would not be a biggy.
Actions of this nature would present the government as a stable, proffesional, responsible group who where taking firm but considered action on an important issue. Instead hundreds of thousands of animals suffered. Where was the four corners story on the animal welfare crisis of monumental proportions created by the Gillard governments childish response to the live trade issues ???? The general public never heard a word about it. It was all hushed up as it didnt meet the leftist media's agenda. It was only the farmers who knew the true extent of the animal suffering that was occuring and frankly it probably wasnt in their interest to publicise the details either.
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