The issue

Australians – including farmers – know there are rules they must follow when it comes to caring for their animals.

If they don’t follow the rules, there are consequences.

So why don’t the same rules apply to live exporters?

And why does our government keep giving in to them?

New animal welfare protections didn’t even last three months before live exporter RETWA / KLTT convinced the government to let them avoid the new regulations.

And the Australian Government, which promised to independently regulate this reckless industry based on the science and evidence, is now allowing them to do it.

After initially making the right decision, and upholding its own regulations in accordance with the overwhelming science and evidence...

The Government has now backflipped under pressure from the live exporter and agreed to exempt them from rules that would’ve protected tens of thousands of Australian animals from a torturous journey into the Middle East at the most dangerous time of year.

Live exporters are playing by their own rules and making a mockery of our regulations, and the Australian Government is letting it happen.

Three out of every four Australians want live exports to end. But everyone agrees the industry should be well managed and regulated.

The Department of Agriculture has shown beyond doubt that they cannot uphold these important animal protection regulations in the face of industry pressure.

Time and again, live exporters like RETWA / KLTT bring negative attention and damage the international reputation of Australian agriculture by flagrantly risking the welfare of our animals.

This cannot be allowed to continue.

They don’t respect our rules. And if the Australian Government and the regulator can’t stop this from happening, live export cannot continue.

What needs to change

The live export industry is plagued by cruelty and disaster - but these sheep must not pay the price for that.

We cannot bend the rules for companies that take unreasonable risks and place our animals in jeopardy.

This request for exemption makes a mockery of our live export regulations and animal protection laws.

This absurd exemption must be overturned, and live export regulation handed over to a more competent independent office of animal welfare.