Unions Campaign against Live Exports
In July of 2001 the Queensland Government commissioned a report into the live export trade in this State, after significant lobbying from the A.M.I.E.U. and industry employers. This report is the culmination of a lot of hard work by the A.M.I.E.U. and represents an important step in our fight to bring attention to the impact that live exports are having on. the meat processing industry.
History
The Live Cattle Export Industry in Australia had only a minor effect on the beef processing industry until 1992, when a rapid and unforseen expansion in the industry took place. From a base of 154,835 head exported in 1992, the industry grew to 890,000 head in 1997.
Most were sourced from North Queensland and the Northern Territory, the traditional feeder area from which Queensland drew young cattle to be slaughtered in Queensland meatworks. During this period the Ross River Meatworks and the Merinda Meatworks (Bowen) closed. Both closures were directly attributed by employers to a lack of stock due to live exports.
Scientists Identify Problems with Live Exports
Sydney Morning Herald Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Exporters get wind of cattle's deadly diet
Daniel Lewis
Regional Reporter
A dodgy diet that leads animals to virtually choke on their own fumes has been pinpointed as one of the factors involved in the high fatality rate of Australia's live meat export trade.
Last year, thousands of sheep and cattle died during export, sparking scrutiny of the conditions on ships carrying them to distant destinations, such as the Middle East.
New research has found that the high-protein food fed to cattle on their journey leads to odours humans find offensive and can be fatal for the animals.
A researcher at Murdoch University, Jeisane Accioly, said the diet produced high levels of ammonium in the animals' urine, which, in the right conditions, became a vapour which affected their breathing in the ship's closed confines.
Together with high temperatures and humidity, and the fact animals for export were already stressed, that vapour could prove deadly, the veterinarian told the Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition conference at the University of New England this week.
The answer, according to Dr Accioly, lies in giving the animals more roughage, such as hay, and decreasing the amount of high-protein grains fed during transit.
Rather than eating stew you have a salad, Dr Accioly said.
The Federal Government says mortality rates are already well down this year, as a result of changes to industry practices recommended in a review that included the RSPCA.
