Running out of excuses
Announcement posted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Australia 01 Aug 2019
Dear Editor,
At last action has been taken, with Emanuel Exports and two of its directors charged with animal cruelty. This follows the release of video footage of over 2,400 sheep dying of heat stress on a live export ship headed to the Middle East two years ago. Under Western Australian law, transporting an animal in a way that causes unnecessary harm carries a maximum penalty of $50,000 or five years imprisonment.
In the video, sheep were shown crammed into dirty pens, panting from heat stress and leaping over each other to access food. According to Vets Against Live Export, such conditions are found every time these ships of death head north, and have been repeatedly reported by whistleblowers.
The live export industry’s response was to look for someone to blame. Wild accusations were hurled that the footage had been fabricated or ship’s workers paid to create vision of suffering sheep. The Federal Department of Agriculture launched an investigation and found there was no basis for these dishonest allegations.
The excuses have run out. It is well past time for us to put this shameful industry into the dustbin of history where it belongs.
Desmond Bellamy
Special Projects Coordinator
PETA Australia
PO Box 2352
Byron Bay NSW 2481
0411 577 416
At last action has been taken, with Emanuel Exports and two of its directors charged with animal cruelty. This follows the release of video footage of over 2,400 sheep dying of heat stress on a live export ship headed to the Middle East two years ago. Under Western Australian law, transporting an animal in a way that causes unnecessary harm carries a maximum penalty of $50,000 or five years imprisonment.
In the video, sheep were shown crammed into dirty pens, panting from heat stress and leaping over each other to access food. According to Vets Against Live Export, such conditions are found every time these ships of death head north, and have been repeatedly reported by whistleblowers.
The live export industry’s response was to look for someone to blame. Wild accusations were hurled that the footage had been fabricated or ship’s workers paid to create vision of suffering sheep. The Federal Department of Agriculture launched an investigation and found there was no basis for these dishonest allegations.
The excuses have run out. It is well past time for us to put this shameful industry into the dustbin of history where it belongs.
Desmond Bellamy
Special Projects Coordinator
PETA Australia
PO Box 2352
Byron Bay NSW 2481
0411 577 416