Australian Public Opinions Regarding the Live Export Trade before and after an Animal Welfare Media Exposé

Australian livestock industries face increased scrutiny from animal welfare groups and society, and the long-distance transport of livestock by sea has recently gained particular attention. Other than non-compliance with broad regulatory standards and voyage mortality rates, there is minimal information to ascertain the welfare of exported livestock. There is currently no standardised, validated animal welfare assessment protocol for livestock on-farm prior to live export or when undergoing transport. This study describes a novel assessment protocol suitable for use on live feeder and slaughter animals exported by sea from Australia. Health and welfare indicators for use in the livestock export supply chain were identified by reviewing three internationally recognised animal welfare assessment protocols for livestock; Welfare Quality®, AWIN and AssureWel, as well as consulting with industry compliance standards and guidelines. This paper proposes a welfare protocol designed to assess sheep and beef cattle exported by sea from Australia, and incorporates environmental-, resource-, management- and animal-based measures. In collaboration with industry, this welfare protocol can be tested on commercial livestock consignments, and be used for ongoing management, for increased transparency and to provide feedback to operators for continuous improvement.

Section: What Is the Application Of This Protocol?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing an Animal Welfare Assessment Protocol for Livestock Transported by Sea

Dunston-Clarke

Willis

Fleming

et al. 2020

“…It is not known what the immediate effects of such exposure might be. The aim of this paper is to investigate broader changes in the community than those studied by Sinclair et al [13].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Subsequent to the programme, for several days there was wide print media coverage, talk-back radio coverage, news reporting and increased social media activity. Sinclair, et al [13] evaluated public reactions to this event using a short questionnaire, collecting responses from 522 respondents, approached at random in Brisbane, Australia. They found that 71% of respondents were familiar with the live export trade before the media coverage and this increased to 78.5% following the coverage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of a Negative Media Event on Public Attitudes Towards Animal Welfare in the Red Meat Industry

Rice

Hemsworth

et al. 2020

Public perception of livestock industries and consumer trust in farmers can affect consumer behaviour and impact on social license to farm. Coincidental with a large random telephone survey of Australian public attitudes and behaviour towards the red meat industry, a media campaign exposing animal cruelty in live export of sheep by sea, occurred. Data collected from the nationwide survey of the public attitudes immediately before (n = 278 respondents) and after (n = 224 respondents) this media campaign was utilised in the present study to examine the effects of the media campaign on the public. In general, respondents’ attitudes towards the red meat industry were positive. Independent t-tests revealed no significant differences between those respondents that completed the survey before or after the 60 Minutes programme in their concern for sheep or beef cattle welfare, attitudes to red meat farming, acceptability of the red meat industry or their trust in farmers in the red meat industry. However, prior to the media campaign, respondents believed sheep to be more comfortable when transported by boats than did respondents who completed the survey after the media campaign. More respondents after the 60 Minutes programme cited social and internet media as a source of information. Therefore, despite the wide media coverage associated with the 60 Minutes programme, these results indicate little effect on the public’s attitudes towards farm animal welfare and the red meat industry. The significant impacts of the programme were reflected in increased community discussion, increased social media activity and an increase in the perceived importance of conditions aboard boats used for live sheep transport.

“…Few animal welfare issues have been as persistently contentious in Australia as the ‘live export’ of livestock via sea [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Recent media attention [ 4 ] has highlighted concerns regarding the effects of high environmental temperature and humidity on the welfare and mortality of animals being shipped live from Australia to the Middle East, especially during the Northern Hemisphere summer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A lack of understanding of what variables influence the likelihood of animals experiencing harmful heat load may have hindered attempts to predict and mitigate heat load events. Narrative reviews have been published on this issue in 2014 [ 11 ] and 2016 [ 12 ], and several unpublished reviews [ 13 , 14 ] have been produced since a media exposé in 2018 [ 2 , 4 ], but to our knowledge, no systematic literature reviews have previously been performed on this topic. Systematic reviews are particularly valuable in contentious situations in which bias on the part of authors may influence which studies are included and excluded (see Supplementary Material ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Heat Load in Australian Livestock Transported by Sea

Collins

Hampton

Barnes

2018

Simple SummaryThe transport of livestock by sea (‘live export’) is an important contemporary animal welfare issue in Australia. There is particular concern for the effects of heat load on the welfare of sheep being shipped live from Australia to the Middle East during the Northern Hemisphere summer. To reduce bias in a contentious context, we performed a systematic review of the literature relevant to Australian sea transport, heat load, and livestock. We discuss the factors contributing to harmful heat load, pathways for mitigating risks and existing knowledge gaps. We identified several areas requiring research to address these knowledge gaps.AbstractThe transport of animals by sea (‘live export’) is one of the most important current animal welfare issues in Australian society. Recent media attention has highlighted concerns regarding the effects of high environmental temperature and humidity on the welfare and mortality of sheep being shipped live from Australia to the Middle East, especially during the Northern Hemisphere summer. To improve understanding of how and why harmful heat load occurs, we systematically reviewed Australian research into heat load and sea transport. High thermal load occurs during the sea transport of sheep and cattle from Australia when animals are subject to hot and humid environmental conditions and cannot remove heat generated by metabolic processes in the body, potentially also gaining heat from the environment. Several approaches have been proposed to mitigate these risks, including avoidance of voyages in hot seasons, selection of heat-resistant livestock breeds, reducing stocking density, and improved ventilation. We identified a lack of scientific literature relating to heat load in animals transported by sea and considerable potential for bias in the literature that was found. We identified the following priority research areas: (i) experimental manipulation of variables thought to influence the incidence and severity of harmful heat load, including sheep density; (ii) further assessment of the Heat Stress Risk Assessment (HSRA) model used to predict heat load events, and (iii) development of a suite of animal welfare indicators that may allow identification of ‘at risk’ sheep before they reach debilitating heat load condition. Addressing these knowledge gaps will assist efforts to reduce the frequency and intensity of harmful heat load events.