Today, there are over 50,000 more reasons to be outraged and appalled by the horrendous conditions animals are subjected to during live exports. The latest travesty involves the ongoing plight of Animals Australia to save 56,000 sheep from this barbaric practice.
“As many of you know, new laws designed to protect animals from suffering on board live export ships in the searing summer months came into effect two weeks ago,” noted a post on the organization’s Facebook page earlier this week. “Sadly, they have just failed their first test, with the industry regulator granting an exemption that will allow thousands of sheep shipped in boiling conditions.”
Animal’s Australia and their legal team secured an urgent trial in the Federal Court in a bid to challenge the decision-making process. Sadly, yesterday, their case was dismissed, leaving the sheep victim to the live export process where they will either cruelly die on the ship or be slaughtered for their meat when they arrive in the Middle East.
“Animals Australia accepts the Federal Court’s decision, but we are, of course, disappointed. Our position remains that had the Department had all available expert evidence before it, this exemption would not have been granted,” Animal Australia’s Lyn White said in a statement, noting that the reason the legislation was introduced was to ensure commercial interests were no longer put before animal welfare. “There are no exceptional circumstances that justify knowingly putting 50,000 sheep at risk of heat stroke.”
