More on Australian Live Exports: Unbelievable Cruelty to Cattle and Sheep in Oman, Kuwait and Egypt Renews Calls for No Live Export to Middle East

For background on this issue, see:
http://geari.blogspot.com/2006/03/unbelievable-
video-exposes_08.html

Article:

Animal rights group targets live sheep importers

http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/2006/s1593113.htm

Thursday, 16/03/2006

Animal rights group PETA is ramping up its campaign against live sheep exports from Australia.

Graphic footage of illegal slaughter practices allegedly taking place in Oman, Kuwait, and Egypt has been sent to the governments of those countries, along a request to stop live animal shipments.

Exports to Egypt were halted last month, after footage was aired in Australia of cattle being mistreated.

Paula Hough from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says animal cruelty needs to be addressed.

"We've decided to branch out and contact the ministers in the countries where the abuses are happening themselves and give them the opportunity to take the stand and say animal welfare is a priority for that country, and demand from Australia that they start only shipping chilled meat," she said.

Livecorp says while it is taking the issues raised by PETA seriously, it is yet to see the new footage.

Chief executive Cameron Hall says there are questions around the group's motives.

"I'm concerned that some of the organisations such as PETA, and some of their actions, are not necessarily fundamentally focused on improving animal welfare outcomes for the animals involved, but they're fundamentally concerned with shutting down farming," he said.

Meanwhile the RSPCA is defending an Internet poll it says shows that Tasmanians want the live export trade halted.

RSPCA Tasmania says the poll, asking what people think of the Tasmanian Government's handling of the livex issue, has registered 100 votes a day for the week it has been running.

Chief executive Dr Rick Butler says seventy 5 per cent of respondents are not happy, and want live exports banned.

But he concedes the result is not surprising, given the poll was conducted on the RSPCA web site.

"Twenty-five per cent of the votes there are negative votes and we do know of kind of large producer companies within and outside of Tasmania who've kind of voted on the poll, in the negative, we're aware of that, but we've tried to keep it in context that these are people that would be visiting the site anyway," he said.