Let's Avoid More Rows!

[icyfroth]

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono says "precise measures" must be taken to avoid a repeat of the spying which caused a deep rift in relations with Australia.

Dr Yudhoyono on Tuesday met with some of his closest advisers and senior ministers to discuss an official response to a letter from Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

The letter was received on Saturday in response to demands from Jakarta for an explanation over the tapping of the president's phone in 2009.

While Indonesian officials have refused to reveal the contents of the letter, a spokesman for the president said before the high-level meeting at the presidential palace that it was in line with expectations.

Indonesia last week suspended all military co-operation with Australia, as well as co-operation in combating people smuggling, intelligence gathering and anti-terrorism efforts.

Click Here To View Full Article

[izabsmiling]

Posted Fri 6 Sep 2013, 10:59am AEST

Farmers on the southern tablelands of New South Wales are having to shoot their cattle because conditions have been so dry.

The region didn't have an autumn break this year, and any remaining spring growth was ruined by frost.

Braidwood district vet, Doctor Bob Templeton, from the Livestock Pest and Health Authority, says he doesn't know how many animals have been shot.

"Well, some cows have gone down because they just haven't got the body weight and the strength," he said.

"They can't walk, they can't stand up and the RSPCA has been called in on some places and, you know, there's a lot of worrying signs about.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-06/farmers-on-nsw-southern-tablelands-shooting-cattle/4940

[izabsmiling]

Cows are dying and farmers face ruin as fodder runs out

• SUE NEALES
• THE AUSTRALIAN
• JULY 06, 2013

-

BILL Williams* is no criminal. But, despite being one of the best dairy farmers in southwestern Victoria, he admits many of his dairy cows are close to starving and some of the weakest have already died in the past few weeks.

Williams won't put his real name to the admission because it would expose him to potential criminal charges for animal cruelty as well as the wrath of animal welfare extremists.

"It's a very emotional subject; where do you draw the line between hungry and starving?" asks a distressed Williams.

"I like to think I'm a good farmer and, like all farmers, I have a real 'thing' about my stock and will do everything I possibly can to look after them.

"But what do we do? If I say I've got no hay or grass left on the place and can't afford to buy enough hay at these unheard-of prices of $400 a tonne - which is all true - I'll be accused of starving my cattle, which is a criminal offence that no one wants on their record."

Williams is not alone. Across a broad strip of southwestern Victoria stretching from Colac to Koroit, hundreds of hungry and malnourished dairy and beef cattle are weak and at risk of death this weekend as a freezing blast of wintry weather sweeps across Victoria.

The driest nine months on record in the region, green grass shortages and a quadrupling of hay and stockfeed grain prices have left farmers torn between financial ruin and a stock loss catastrophe.

- See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/cows-are-dying-and-farmers-face-ruin-as-fodder-runs-ou...

[icyfroth]

ok thank you Iza.

but as Joono says, the cattle put on the ships are all certified healthy.

[colic2bullsgirlore]

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@freshwaterbeach wrote:

Colic, each of the beasts to be exported was certified to be in perfect health....unlike the beasts 'on the ground' in Australia.

You are comparing oranges with apples.

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You are advocating that live export should stop.

If it did then the paddock mortality% is what those same cattle that are exported at the moment could look forward to.

I am comparing the mortality % of cattle that  stayed at home directly with the % mortality of those animals that were

exported.

The paddock mortality % was gleaned over 5 years.

On the post above the mortality % of cattle onboard vessels over 5 plus years are given from infromation gleaned from

over 800 voyages

Oranges with Apples?

The figures frankly show that cattle while under closer scrutiny when onboard a vessel pragmatically have better

outcomes than those that stay at home in a paddock over an extended period minimally 5 years.

Feedlot mortality rates are equitable with onboard outcomes for the same reasons.

The cattle are intensely scrutinized before entry to the lot and certified healthy (as opposed to being certified in perfect

health as somebody stated above).

Any animal detected with disease is isolated and lastly like the cattle that are onboard ships cattle in feedlots have

much tighter observation than those in paddocks beacuse of the physical restraint of their compound.

How could anybody describe the cattles boat voyage to Indonesia as "horrendous" when statistics show that the

real horrendous bit is the cattle that stay at home and their mortality rate which is patently much much higher??

[colic2bullsgirlore]

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@j*oono wrote:

Over what time period did it take for the 2.9 - 14% of cattle that died in the paddock?  I'm sorry if you already mentioned but you said it was a 5 year study.  I'm sure it wasn't over five years but was it the same length of time that it takes for the sea voyage?

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The paddock mortality rate statistics were assessed and averaged over a 5 year period. The study ran for 5 years

The onboard mortality rate satistics show the % mortality rate for the last 12 years for each year individually

yopu can pick any 5 year period you like Joono from the onboard statistics and they do not come with a bulls roar of

the paddock mortality rate. In fact generally the onboard mortality % is 20 times lower than the paddock mortality %.

In the worst (paddock) case scenario however it is much worse tha that with the morrtality average being over 12%

[icyfroth]

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@icyfroth wrote:

ok thank you Iza.

but as Joono says, the cattle put on the ships are all certified healthy.

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Sorry freshie, it was you posted that, not Joono.

Apoligies to both posters.