We were fortunate enough to have Annabelle Coppin travel from her family cattle station in the Pilbara in Northwest WA visit us in Bahrain recently.  Upon arrival into Bahrain the first Bahraini she met christened her “Zanib”, her Arabic name for Annabelle, so “Zanib” it was for the rest of her Middle East trip.  

It was a real bonus to be able to host Annabelle and be able to share with her the achievements and day-to-day challenges we face.  Though I have to say that our achievements in the month of December have far outweighed the challenges and Annabelle was here with us to share the success of Bahrain Livestock Company “No Car Boot Policy”.  In my next blog I will share a pictorial story of the very successful “No car boot” policy during Eid Al Adha in December.

Below are Annabelle’s initial thoughts on Bahrain as it was the first Middle East country she has visited.....  .

The uniform tall white buildings, sand and date palms assured me that I was in a very different place when I arrived straight from the our property in Western Australia into Bahrain. That very day Sharon introduced me to the very warm and friendly people involved with Bahrain Livestock Company and I was able to visit their feedlot and facilities. The very next morning I was able to board a livestock vessel that had arrived from Australia. I spent several hours witnessing the unloading of the stock and walking all the decks inspecting the animals health and general well-being. I always try and relate to Australian animals as if they were all my own and I was very content with the way animals where handled at discharge. Sharon and Peter have created systems and livestock handling skills that, you can clearly witness, have improved the people of Bahrain’s knowledge of stockmanship and general awareness of animal welfare. Their  of contribution to improving animal welfare in these countries is an example of why I am very confident in supplying animals to the livestock export trade and have faith in further solid steady improvements into the future.

It was great having Annabelle to stay with us and you can see that Thomas enjoyed being with her too and he also wants to share his experiences with her as well.   

Hello I am Sharon and I live in Bahrain with my family, Peter my husband, Thomas my two year old son and my 12 year old stepson Ben. 

I was born and raised on a sheep and cattle property 80kms out of Coonamble in North West NSW. I have grown up with sheep and cattle and in later life I developed a passion for truck driving, that is another story that I will share with you some day.

I have been in Bahrain for 18 months now and the purpose of my stay is to work with importers of Australian sheep into the Gulf, assisting and facilitating ongoing improvements in infrastructure and handling which results in improved animal welfare.

I am finding my time here in Bahrain very rewarding not only from a work perspective but also from a family perspective. Once I leave Bahrain the one thing that I will take away with me is the emphasis the "Bahraini's" and other regions throughout the Gulf place on family.

My objective through my diary over the next few months is to share my story and also introduce you to some of the wonderful people I work with in the region. I will also show you some photos that will demonstrate the significant change that has been made in the region in the last few years, the title being: "That was then this is now".

Though a brief introduction folks, watch this space for the real story.