White Sheep Exports and Its Need to Australia |
Posted: May 11, 2020 |
Western Australia's live sheep export industry has a vision for Australia to remain the respected world leader in sustainable live export, and is committed to consistently achieving sound animal welfare outcomes. Considerable scrutiny is applied to every shipment of Australian White Sheep exporters that leaves Fremantle, starting with the selection of the right kind of sheep for live export, to the preparation of sheep at pre-export quarantine facilities, and transport on livestock trucks and vessels. All sheep for live animal export undergo a minimum of four individual inspections from the time they are purchased on-farm to the point of being housed in pre-export feedlots to undergo preparation for live export. When it's time for the live export sheep to be transported from feedlots to vessels, two further separate inspections by veterinarians, including one by an AQIS inspector, is carried out to make sure that only sheep fit to travel are loaded onto livestock trucks. As an extra measure, some members of the Livestock and Rural Transport Association of Western Australia (LRTAWA) have attended low stress livestock handling courses, and has been working with government agencies to establish a recognised transport-specific low stress stock handling module as part of existing training courses. After a short trip to the wharf, live sheep are again individually inspected by approved livestock inspectors under the oversight of AQIS and industry veterinarians. They are then loaded onto Australian Maritime Safety Authority-approved livestock export vessels, with AQIS veterinarians inspecting the sheep a final time before the ship is allowed to leave. Western Australian White Sheep exporters industry is focused on delivering healthy live sheep exports to overseas markets. With each shipment valued at millions of dollars, it is in the interests of all sectors of the industry to ensure sheep arrive at their destination in the best possible condition, and the industry's commitment to this is reflected by the fact that over 99 per cent of Australian sheep are healthy at their destinations. Live sheep export provides a valuable market option for Western Australian sheep producers. The live export industry employs almost Western Australians, including farming families, indigenous landowners, stockmen and women, road transporters and veterinarians. Over 50 per cent of Western Australian sheep sold each year are exported to the Middle East to feed families and communities with what is often their only source of dairy products. The live sheep and cattle trades contribute millions to the Western Australian economy each year, millions from the export of sheep and millions from the cattle trade. As well as providing a living for many Western Australians, the live export trade supports many businesses including feed suppliers, transport companies, exporters and livestock agents. These businesses have either emerged to support the livestock export industry or have grown in response to it, and are largely dependent on the trade for their business. The live export of sheep from Australia to the Middle East is vitally important to the food security of the region, with Australian sheep providing an affordable and secure source of protein for communities in the region. In addition to live sheep exports, the Middle East also imports frozen and chilled sheep meat products from Australia. These products can be found in supermarkets and restaurants, whereas the meat from Australian sheep processed in the Middle East is sold through wet markets, which is the traditional way that meat is purchased by poorer people in the community. Exporting live sheep from Australia is also very important to the Australian economy, particularly to rural and regional areas where people rely on the trade for their livelihood.
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