Australian Meat Industry Council chief executive Patrick Hutchinson said China’s backdown would benefit the entire beef supply chain including “thousands of farmers and feedlots they support through cattle purchase”.
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While the government will see the lifting of bans as a win, Labor has sparked a backlash across the country as it seeks to ban Australia’s live sheep exports.
Draft laws lodged on Thursday in parliament would outlaw the trade by May 2028. It only operates out of Western Australia with exports to the Middle East.
Labor pledged to ban live sheep exports on animal welfare grounds while in opposition in 2019. The policy followed the 2017 disaster when heat stress killed around 2500 sheep on the Awassi Express export vessel.
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the funding would support the industry to transition to onshore meat processing, and reiterated the live sheep trade was in decline before the ban was announced.
“While live sheep export numbers have plummeted in the last 20 years, now contributing just 0.1 per cent of all national agricultural exports, sheep meat exports are going through the roof,” Watt said.
Australia exported around 600,000 sheep last year, and West Australian Premier Roger Cook has said the end of live sheep exports would cut 400 jobs.
The government has pledged a $107 million support package to help farmers switch to processing animals locally and exporting meat instead.
National Farmers’ Federation president David Jochinke said the live sheep ban had been driven by a misinformation campaign from animal activists.
“Activists want you to think this industry hasn’t changed. They want you to think that the ghastly scenes seared in our memories from many years back are still true today,” Jochinke said.
“That is completely false. The fact is we haven’t had a serious welfare incident on water since sweeping reforms more than seven years ago.”
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NSW Farmers president Xavier Martin said while live sheep are exported from Western Australia the ban would limit the ability of farmers in eastern states to respond to weather and market events by shifting livestock around the country.
“This industry is a fundamental market tool that enables farmers to manage livestock and uphold high standards of animal welfare through trying seasons, market failure and more – and so without it, many farmers will have some major problems on their hands,” Martin said.
Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano said the live sheep ban heralded a threat to other animal industries.
“It sends a message that your business can be shut down with the stroke of a pen and that leads to massive uncertainty throughout the entire Australian agriculture industry,” Germano said.
Nationals Leader David Littleproud said the government had not demonstrated a threat to animal welfare to justify the live sheep exports ban.
“Minister Watt made decisions without being given proper modelling or details into the impact of banning live sheep exports and without evidence.”
Farm groups maintain that Middle Eastern demand for live sheep will not decline due to Australia’s ban, and sheep will suffer under exports from countries with lower animal welfare standards.