MEETINGS:

Committee: 35 High Street, Fremantle

(Rooms 1 & 2)

1.30pm on Sat June 26 2004

Sat July 31 2004

Sat Aug 28 2004

Please check label on envelope to see if your renewal is due!

Fremantle Museum Exhibition - Opening

The exhibition, which focuses mainly on

successfully by Greens MLC Jim Scott on the

evening of April 22. Many members came along

to view the beautifully presented account of

PACAT's activism over the past 10 years. Our

thanks to the Museum's designer Mark Welsh,

who put in many, many hours of overtime to

make it happen, and also to Lisa Williams, the

History Curator at Fremantle Museum. Everyone

enjoyed the delicious food platters donated by

The Sandcastle Organic Café and The Juicy

Beetroot Café and the drinks, some of which

were donated by local businesses such as the

Sail & Anchor Hotel. PACAT members Jenny

Grant and Lisa Critchley were pivotal organisers

for the event and the committee thanks them

heartily for their efforts. We also want to thank

the artists who have loaned or donated works to

the exhibition, including paintings by Willem van

Dordrecht and Yvette Watt and sculptures by

Anne Neil. The latter have been donated for sale

- see picture on our website soon.

The exhibition runs for approximately 4 months,

so we hope you'll all be able get there and also

tell all your family, friends and colleagues about

it!

The Museum is part of the Fremantle Arts Centre

on the corner of Finnerty and Ord Streets,

Fremantle and is open 10.30am - 4.30pm

Sunday to Friday and 1pm - 5pm Saturdays and

Public Holidays.

Website Revamp

The PACAT website will soon be revamped with

improved information and layout, more pictures,

etc. Check out the site (see above address) over

the next few weeks and let us know what you

think!

Demo Dates

Bridge (old Freo bridge) intersection.

Please contact Heather Wood before the dates if in

doubt (phone 9272 2992 A/H).

Demo Report

Thanks to all those who have supported the

demo days over the past few months. Although

we have been a little low in numbers (very small

in fact) at the April and May demos, we have

received such positive public support it makes it

all worthwhile. One motorist from a TV station

gave one or our members his card, and at one

point during the last demo, after we had taken

photos of trucks with squashed sheep and some

legs sticking out, I turned around and people

waiting at the lights started cheering and

clapping. I thought we were on stage, and in a

conscience. We did, however, get some good

35 High St, Fremantle, WA 6160

Phone: 9430 8839

shots. I was also pleased that a positive letter

referring to our "annoying little" demos was

you feel you would like to be active, please don't

support!

May Day March & Stall

Thanks to those members who gave up their

time to be at the May Day March in Fremantle

solidarity with the AMIEU (meatworkers union),

our stall collected signatures, postcards to the

PM & Mark Latham, some new memberships

and approx $90 in donations.

Kuwait Video on Animals Australia website

Four new videos available for viewing on the

Animals Australia website at

Campaigns') provide a crucial insight into what

Australian exported sheep endure, both during

the extended sea journey and the treatment that

they receive in importing countries.

This footage was taken during a joint

investigation in Kuwait in Nov/Dec 2003 by

Animals Australia and Compassion in World

Farming.

Kuwait is currently the major importer of

Australian sheep, importing some 1.5 million

each year.

The video footage allows the animals to tell their

own story and provide those who care with the

opportunity to bear witness. We believe that

most Australian farmers who are exporting

sheep genuinely care about the welfare of their

animals and have not been fully informed by the

live export industry about what animals face in

importing countries. We therefore commend

Animals Australia for putting this footage on its

website, allowing farmers and others to see for

themselves what happens.

slaughter footage. However, the others do.

Whilst watching them may be distressing, it is

important because it shows the reality of what

animals leaving our shores will continue to

endure. The animals need us all to be fully

informed.

If you feel that you are unable to watch these

video streams then please read the Kuwait

Investigation Report on the site, which is an

eyewitness account from Animals Australia

investigator, Lyn White. It fully details the

circumstances in which this footage was taken.

'Death Journeys' CD

We also encourage members to get a copy of

the other Animals Australia film 'Death

(to cover production & postage). It is a valuable

tool to show people why the live export trade

must end. Phone the PACAT office for your copy.

Movie Fundraiser

We recently held a very successful movie

fundraiser organised, almost entirely, by the

Shugg family. Committee member Sabina Shugg

came up with the idea and organised the ticket

sales. Marg Shugg sold more tickets than

anybody and, on the night, a family effort

produced the most yummy nibbles, wine and

beer. The evening was a lot of work but a great

'Wondrous Oblivion' was a delight and quite

perfect for the occasion. Well done Shuggs and

thank you!

If any of you can think of other ways of fundraising,

please give us a call at the office.

Letterbox drop

As you know, in the lead-up to the Federal (and

State) elections, it's more important than ever to

force political leaders to take a stand against live

animal exports. We plan to drop sample letters

and/or postcards to Mr Howard & Mr Latham

(along with a brief explanatory note to the

householder) in residential areas around the

state. If you can participate in this during July

and August, please phone or email the office

and tell us how many to send you. Or you can

drop by and collect your batch from the office

(please phone beforehand).

'YAC IT UP' - March

Just before our last newsletter was mailed out,

we were asked if we wanted PACAT to be part

of the above event to be held in Melville. YAC

stands for Youth Advisory Council and we were

informed that last year approximately 10,000

young folk visited this event. Ever keen to

contact Australia's youth on the live export trade

issue, we made sure we were there with bells on

and it was an incredibly successful day. Thanks

to all of those who gave up their precious

weekend to help out.

lodged by Animals Australia under the

Animal Welfare Act (2002)

Fremantle loaded with 103,000 sheep and some

deer (probably less than 100 but true figure

unknown). Lyn White an investigator from

Animals Australia (AA) flew to Kuwait to observe

and film the arrival of the ship, the condition and

treatment of the sheep during unloading, and

subsequent sale and slaughter. She was joined

in Kuwait by an investigator from Compassion in

World Farming (CIWF) a British animal welfare

organisation. Posing as agriculture students,

they were able to gain access to the ship, the

holding facility on the wharf, local markets and

slaughterhouses, and to interview

crewmembers. Several hours of film were shot

and a small portion of this was shown on '60

Minutes' in March. Needless to say the images

are deeply shocking. The suffering and fear to

which these animals are subjected is beyond

belief.

The main purpose of this trip was to gather

evidence which would allow a complaint to be

laid under WA's new Animal Welfare Act

[(Section 19(3)] which states that animals must

not be "transported in a manner likely to cause

unnecessary harm". This clause raises a number

of interesting legal points, none of which have

been tested in the courts in relation to this Act.

In particular the meaning of "likely",

"unnecessary" and "harm" remain very open to

argument and challenge. The complaint is based

on the degree of death and suffering which

inevitably occurs (and is within accepted

"industry limits") on every single shipment out of

Australia. It is important to note that this was a

routine shipment in good weather conditions

and the mortality level was below that which

would trigger an investigation. The evidence

was gathered from a variety of sources including

statements from crewmembers about the

incidence of "shy-feeders" (animals that starve to

death), salmonellosis (gastroenteritis) and

pinkeye (infectious keratoconjunctivitis)

onboard. Video footage showed dead animals

lying undiscovered until the pens were emptied

at unloading, indicating that much disease and

suffering is undetected and untreated (as one

would expect with 1 stockman for 100,000+

animals). Many blind, emaciated and injured

animals were observed and filmed. Statements

from vets regarding the condition of the animals

in the video were obtained and included in the

evidence. The reports compiled by the industry

itself are also a valuable source of material

regarding the morbidity rates aboard ships and

are, by definition, irrefutable.

Both the police and inspectors appointed by the

RSPCA or the Chief Executive of the Department

of Local Government are able to investigate and

lay charges relating to breaches of the Act. A

detailed and extensive dossier of evidence was

compiled and handed to the Police in December

reported to the police by PACAT members

to show that the alleged offences were

investigate any of the evidence and after several

months decided to exercise their discretion not

passed to the RSPCA and sheep loading was

was not keen to take on the case or note our

complaints about ongoing shipments. To our

knowledge an inspector has not undertaken any

investigation despite the compelling nature of

the evidence that a law that they have the

power to enforce had been breached. An official

statement from the RSPCA has not been made

but it is unlikely that they will launch an

investigation unless they are forced to act, or the

Council radically changes its stance. This

demonstrates how inadequate and piecemeal

the enforcement of animal welfare law in

Australia is. The highly political nature of live

exports will always make it virtually impossible

for the RSPCA to take on a legal campaign

without jeopardizing Government funding and

support. Although the RSPCA may have a stated

policy against live exports, it is clearly uneasy

about contributing directly to its demise and it is

hard to see a legal challenge being supported

by its many farming and live export industry

members.

So, where are we at?

At the moment we are waiting to see how the

RSPCA will deal with the complaint. There may

be a legal process open to us, which could force

the RSPCA to investigate the complaint, but this

would obviously involve legal costs. This would

need to be weighed against the excellent media

publicity resulting from our 'day in court' where

evidence could be shown in graphic detail.

There are many potential legal twists in this case.

Some of the PACAT committee feel it is worth

going as far as we can, as the exporters have

always considered themselves safe from

prosecution because the alleged offences are

committed outside the jurisdiction of the Act.

This may not be the case under the new Act.

The word 'likely' introduces a range of

possibilities for interpretation of when the

offence occurs. Any sort of legal challenge

would certainly shake up the whole industry

and is our best chance of landing a scoring

punch. Further updates will be included in

future newsletters and on "Tradeban".

Tradeban

As we said in the last newsletter, PACAT has set

who are not members) informed of the latest

news, events and action related to the live

out' at any time, should you wish.

(about anything related live exports that you feel

is of interest) to all the list members by just

sent to all others on the list, once the moderator

approves it.

To subscribe to Tradeban, just go to

http://pacat.org/mailman/listinfo/tradeban_pacat.org

Jim Scott MLC

Over the 10 years that PACAT has been around,

no politician has given us more help and

support than Jim Scott. Jim has become a real

friend to PACAT and we are indebted to him for

many reasons. Virtually every newsletter that

has arrived on your doorstep has been copied

and put together at Jim's office (with Penny

Archer, Lynn MacLaren or Lynn Gauntlett at the

helm!) and Jim has always been available to

present petitions to Parliament, give impromptu

speeches at rallies and ask questions in the

House (see item this newsletter). Recently of

course he opened our Exhibition at the

Fremantle Museum.

Thanks Jim. We wish you all the best in the next

election when you stand down from the Upper

House to run for a seat in the Lower House.

On the few occasions when Jim's facilities

haven't been available, we are lucky to have had

the use of Giz Watson's office. Giz, as I'm sure

you all know, is the Greens member for North

Metro and has given PACAT 100% support over

the years. So, our thanks also to Giz.

Jim Scott's Questions on Animal Welfare Act

It looks like the Government is finding it hard to

answer questions about the RSPCA's handling of

our complaints against loading sheep at

Fremantle Port. Over several months, they have

handballed this parliamentary question from

one Minister to another. The latest answer was

along the lines of "I didn't get the question."

LIVESTOCK SHIP AL KUWAIT, COMPLAINT TO

POLICE UNDER THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT

2002 (04/06/2004)

432. Hon JIM SCOTT to the Minister for Local

Government and Regional Development:

Further to my question without notice to the

Minister for Police and Emergency Services of 2

April 2004, who asked that I refer the question

to the Attorney General, and further to my

question without notice to the Attorney General

of 2 June, when I was asked to refer this

question to the Minister for Local Government

and Regional Development, my question relates

to the complaint made to the police under the

Animal Welfare Act 2002 about the loading of

sheep onto the livestock ship Al Kuwait.

(1) As the Police Service has advised the Royal

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

that it is the investigating body in this matter,

will the RSPCA have access to the State Solicitor's

Office to assist it in this investigation?

(2) Will the Government support the RSPCA in

the investigation by underwriting the cost of this

test case?

Hon KIM CHANCE replied:

I have more disappointment for Hon Jim Scott,

because I do not have his question in my file.

Merchandise

sleeves, or all white, sizes XS to XXL, in plain and

fitted styles, with the wording 'Stop Live Exports'

front and back plus an image of a ship with

animals in the foreground. If you visit our

website you can see before you buy.

We also have for sale some delightful little furry

up and cuddle them! At approx 10cm high and

excellent gifts for children and adults alike.

Pictures of these will soon be on the website.

One of the most stunning exhibits at our

exhibition in Fremantle Museum is the hundreds

Anne very kindly allowed us to use the sheep for

the exhibition. What we didn't know or expect

was that she would donate the entire collection

to PACAT! So, these beautiful works of art are

individually crafted, so they all have their own

special expressions and features. (Size is 11cm

high by about 19cm long.) Thank you Anne for

this incredibly generous gesture. Once again,

they can soon be viewed on our website.

Entertainment Books

arts & leisure activities!

The 2004/05 Entertainment Books are available

for only a little while longer. They contain 2 for 1

offers, % off offers, and other great money-savers

in a range of categories such as fine dining,

casual restaurants, take away restaurants, arts

everyone wins!

Street Appeal: Friday October 15

'Get paid' for standing still!

We need your help in October to collect for our

annual Street Appeal. Make a note on the

calendar and/or in the diary NOW and let us

know if you can participate, even if only for an

hour. You can collect your tins, etc from either

the PACAT office in High Street, Fremantle, or

from the Community Centre at Perth City railway

station. You may then collect money in any

public place in the metro area. If you gain the

permission of owners, you may also collect in

workplaces, shopping centres, sports centres,

etc. Collectors are also ideally placed to

distribute information leaflets! NB. Tins will need

to be returned to PACAT office or city

Community Centre by 6pm that day (unless,

heaven forbid, they are empty!)

'60 Minutes' Logie Nomination

We were thrilled to see that 'Making a Killing',

the first of the three '60 Minutes' stories on the

live export trade, was nominated for a Logie

Award. During the Logie Award programme on

ABC recently, a segment from this story was

repeated. We felt very pleased that the story was

deemed of such quality that it was nominated

for an award and of course that this meant more

media exposure for our cause.

Keniry Report

The Government commissioned this report after

all heard or read about the recommendations

called for within the report but perhaps some of

you would like to obtain a copy. You can do so

PACAT feels that the report was entirely

inadequate and that the only way to 'improve'

the trade in live animals is to stop it! We know

from the past that recommendations are

ignored (for example, the 1985 Senate Select

Committee recommended that the trade should

cease on animal welfare grounds alone) but it

obviously makes the Government feel better to

have wasted time and taxpayers' money writing

yet another report.

Australian Veterinary Association (AVA)

Once again we were dismayed (although not

surprised) to learn that at their recent

Conference the AVA voted in favour of

continuation of the trade. Membership of the

association is not compulsory and so this result is

not indicative of veterinarians as a whole. One

of our next campaigns is to write to all vets

asking their views on the trade and the AVA's

decision to support it. We will let you know the

results. We did do this a few years back and

many vets now have our literature and petition

forms in their surgeries. Perhaps members can

ask their vets about how they feel and if they

would agree to have our literature made

available to their clients?

Thankyou to Julie Malley

A big thankyou to Julie Malley of Clackline for

her generous donation of a pair of binoculars.

They have become a most useful part of the

PACAT office and have greatly assisted in our

'Shipwatch' campaign to spot (and name) the

dreaded vessels berthing at Fremantle. Let's

hope that these extra 'eyes' help us to put an

end to these floating coffins.

Digital Camera

Lots of 'thankyous' in this newsletter, not least

for the incredible generosity of a member who

donated money for PACAT to buy a digital

camera. This member wants to remain

anonymous. Nevertheless, we just had to

mention it and to say how very much we

appreciate this gift. We now have a state-of-theart

camera at the ready to take pictures (both

still and moving) of trucks and ships, which can

then be sent out immediately for the world to

see, via the Internet. We've dreamed of such a

thing to further our cause and to show the

horrors of the trade that we witness on a daily

basis.

Member Profile: Brenda Pearson

Brenda is one of PACAT's longest serving volunteers.

She heard about PACAT about nine years ago, when

she encountered one of our stalls at the Conscious

Living Expo. She says it was the photographs of

animal suffering that made Brenda want to become

involved with PACAT's work. After taking home some

information, she went to her first meeting in

Fremantle.

However, Brenda had become aware of the live

animal trade well before this. In 1968, soon after

arriving in Perth, she saw "something that resembled

a huge building on the water", into which "hundreds

and hundreds" of sheep were being loaded, at the

docks at Fremantle.

"I spoke to somebody on the wharf and took lots and

lots of photographs," she recalls.

Brenda subsequently wrote to Mrs Tammy Fraser

(wife of the Prime Minister) to object to the trade,

particularly the number of accidents involving sheep

trucks travelling into the metro area. It was the start

of a long career in letter writing against the trade.

Before Brenda joined PACAT, she recalls that a farmer

she knew said he could arrange for her to travel on a

sheep ship to the Middle East, though unfortunately

she wasn't able to take up the offer!

Brenda continues to be involved in staffing stalls,

writing letters and helping operate the 'phone tree'.

"If I can, I still attend all demonstrations, though I no

longer go into the office every week as I used to," she

says.

"Nevertheless, I will go on supporting PACAT until I'm

too ancient to do so!" she jokes.

We certainly hope so, just as we also hope that

Brenda will celebrate the end of the trade with us all

in the not-too-distant future. What a day that will be!

Some Committee Changes

Thankyou Celia for all your hard work - don't know what we would have done without you. Celia will

be retiring from full time work soon and has said that she intends to work occasionally in the office. See

you then, and at the next demo!

volunteer for PACAT - was accepted as a member at the May meeting.

MEMBERS' NOTICEBOARD: LOVING DOG SITTERS WANTED

Two wonderful dogs are looking for someone to love and cuddle them in their own home near

Subiaco for about 6 weeks in September/October whilst their Mum and Dad go away. Dates to be

confirmed. If you think you can help, please ring the PACAT office 9430 8839.

Our thanks to Giz Watson, MLC, for allowing us the use of photocopying facilities and to

Lynn Gauntlett for doing the work of copying.

Editor: Tanya Marwood, who can be contacted with items for inclusion on e-mail at

<tanya.m@globaldial.com> or by snail mail at 30 Flora Tce, Lesmurdie, 6076 (phone 9291 3723).

Feedback welcome!