Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation) Share this | Hansard source

The images on 60 Minutes show practices that are totally unacceptable to, I would imagine, all Australians. Can I say, as a former honorary legal adviser to the RSPCA in my home state of Tasmania for a number of years, those sorts of images appal me just as much as I am sure they appal Senator Bartlett.

I am able to inform the senator that the Egyptian government has told our industry that these practices are illegal in Egypt as well. Mr McGauran has written to his counterpart in the Egyptian government asking for advice on how investigations into these allegations and these practices are going to be carried out and whether or not these practices are common in Egyptian abattoirs. I am assured that the Egyptian authorities view this issue as seriously as we do here.

The Australian government and the livestock export industry take animal welfare issues very seriously. The industry operates under practices that lead the world in ensuring good animal welfare procedures are in place along the supply chain to the port of unloading. No other country has done as much to this end. This is not, however, the end of the story. Australia has been working directly with a number of countries in the Middle East to improve animal welfare practices up to and including the point of slaughter. Members of the Gulf Cooperation Council in the Middle East recently committed to working with Australia to improve animal handling practices across the entire region. This follows meetings involving Australian officials where recent international guidelines were discussed.

We have also been active in Egypt. The abattoir mentioned in the 60 Minutes footage has received funding from both the Australian government and Australian industry to improve stock handling and processing practices. This has included provision and installation of a restraint box to assist with the humane slaughter of cattle. The allegation by 60 Minutes that it is not being used has been refuted by industry. Mr McGauran has sent the Australian consul for agriculture, fisheries and forestry in this region to investigate the allegation in association with Egyptian authorities. If we find that the 60 Minutes allegations are accurate, there will be no further cattle shipped to Egypt until conditions have improved.

I note some suggestions that the cattle displayed in those horrific scenes did not originate from Australia, but all those matters are currently being investigated. The simple fact is, I think, that we in Australia condemn the practices that were portrayed on our TV sets the other night. We as an Australian government are taking that very seriously. That is why my colleague Mr McGauran has announced that exports to Egypt have been terminated in the interim, until further investigations can take place.