McCarthy submission embraces cultural change

THE Australian livestock export industry has proposed sweeping reforms in its formal submission to the McCarthy Review into live sheep exports to the Middle East during the Northern Hemisphere summer.

Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council CEO Simon Westaway said live sheep exporters were determined to maintain the support of producers and the Australian community.

“Exporters must lead the way in animal welfare outcomes, backed by the latest scientific evidence, while embedding a culture of industry-wide change for a sustainable live sheep trade,” Mr Westaway said.

“Our industry’s global leadership role in livestock welfare, transportation and supply chain management will be bolstered by our reform agenda.”

ALEC’s submission has directly addressed transport safeguards during the Northern Hemisphere summer, including lighter stocking density, refinements to the heat stress risks assessment (HSRA) model and the use of a wider range of animal welfare indicators to measure performance.

Mr Westaway said industry-backed transparency and governance measures recommended to the McCarthy Review included previously flagged support for the role of independent observers on vessels, the establishment of an Inspector General for the Welfare of Exported Animals and a new livestock export Code of Conduct.

Recommendations in the ALEC submission to the McCarthy Review include:

• An Independent Observer on Middle East voyages during the 2018 Northern Hemisphere summer, at the discretion of the regulator, and for future voyages based on a risk assessment of each voyage

• Vessels departing Australia from 1 June to 31 August 2018 for the Middle East will have a sheep stocking density governed by the Heat Stress Risk Assessment (HSRA) model. Until the HSRA can be updated, specific stocking rates for voyages for this period will be applicable for the Arabian Gulf (the higher of 17.5% below ASEL or HSRA density) and for the Red Sea (the higher of 10% below ASEL or HSRA density)

• The introduction of new animal welfare measures for the 2018 Northern Hemisphere summer, including the development of reliable and practical animal welfare indicators which are already being piloted

• Arabian Gulf multi-port voyages from June to August 2018 to use Kuwait as the first discharge port, reducing the effective stocking rate for subsequent discharge at higher humidity ports

• An independent review of any high mortality voyages, in addition to the regulator’s investigation

• Industry to work with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to on key Marine Order Part 43 reforms

“These proactive, meaningful steps are driven by real cultural change in our industry and a commitment to improve the export conditions for live sheep to the Middle East,” Mr Westaway said.

Contact: Tom Dawkins via 0476 844 886 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.