Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Federal Member for Grey Rowan Ramsey has reassured livestock producers in his electorate that the Coalition Government condemns cruelty to animals and takes animal welfare very seriously.
Mr Ramsey’s comments follow the government urgently investigating information and footage provided of on-board conditions on a number of live export voyages to the Middle East.
Mr Ramsey said the Coalition Government supports farmers who rely on the live export trade and exporters who do the right thing.
“It’s clear that this job can be done safely and humanely and failure to do so is a failure by the exporters,” he said.
“We need to clamp down on any rogue operators and review the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) to ensure that it is adequately regulating the industry.”
Mr Ramsey said the Agriculture Minister had issued an urgent enquiry and had already highlighted some discrepancy between the official report and what was shown on the 60-minutes program Sunday night.
“We don’t want a knee jerk reaction – but we need to immediately get to the bottom of what is going on to ensure that farmers livestock is properly looked after,” Mr Ramsey said.
“I think the recently released footage is truly horrific and it’s completely at odds with community expectations and the care that farmers provide to their animals.”
Contact: Kendall Jackson (08)8633 1744