Caring for animals is the number one priority for everyone in the livestock export industry; from farmers and transport operators to feedlot managers, stockmen, vets and exporters.
Farmers are committed to the wellbeing of their animals. They take pride in the quality of their animals, knowing that well cared for livestock are the most productive animals.
Australian farmers are interested in the welfare of their animals beyond the farm gate. They support the livestock export industry because they know it must comply with high standards of care.
Exporters make animal care their first priority. This is not only for ethical reasons but also to ensure they maintain the confidence of their customers.
They must satisfy their customers about the quality of the animals that are shipped and their wellbeing on arrival. If exporters fail to meet these strict requirements, they will lose money and contracts.
The public can be confident that exports are carried out humanely and safely. Everyone involved in the livestock export industry understands that there is a level of concern in Australia and other countries about the livestock export trade. The industry’s survival depends on the community and government having confidence that the trade is conducted with the highest standards of animal care.
These care standards are reflected in law. Strict regulations have been established with input from the industry, animal welfare bodies and government departments.
We lead the world with our standards of animal care in livestock export. The Australian industry has many years’ experience in the shipping of livestock. Recent research found we lead the world with our standards of animal care during export.
An independent report, published by Alliance Resource Economics in March 2006 and titled “World Livestock Export Standards”, found:
“Australia has world-best livestock export standards in terms of coverage and capacity to deliver acceptable outcomes.”
Strict industry standards have successfully improved livestock export. In 2006, 4.15 million sheep, 25,353 goats and 618,645 cattle were exported from Australia.
The 2006 success rates in export deliveries were 99.1% for sheep, 99.82% for cattle and 99.51% for goats. These figures demonstrate a significant improving trend over the last ten years.
Related information:
> Australian livestock export industry releases 2006 mortality summary -
“The improvements industry has made to operating procedures and the day-to-day care provided to animals during transport has enabled us to remain well below the regulatory benchmark set by the Australian Government... We remain committed to further improving these results." Cameron Hall, LiveCorp CEO.