Australian Live Beef Exports Under FIre
An Australian animal right’s group filmed footage at several Indonesia packing plants showing terrible abuse to animals. Australia ships some live animals to other countries, like Indonesia, for slaughter.
Outrage over the abuse has culminated with a request for a halt of Australian cattle shipments to Indonesia. The Australian Agriculture Minister, Joe Ludwig, has declared a moratorium on the supply of cattle to 11 Indonesian slaughter facilities.
Within the Australian livestock industry, both cattle ranchers and the public are demanding changes to the way business is done. Some Australian beef producers are angry to be paying levies to Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), which provides training to the Indonesia processors.
Do reports like these impact U.S. beef exports?
U.S. Meat Export Federation’s Joe Schuele said, “It’s never positive to have animal abuse or cruelty in the news, but since this incident is not associated in any way with the U.S. meat industry we wouldn’t expect much of a backlash. It’s a good reminder to our industry, however, how vividly bad actors can be exposed and how quickly that news will travel across the world.”
Click here to read Australian Op Ed: "Total Ban Is Not the Solution for a Humane Trade in Live Cattle"
