Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Live exports in this country are underpinned by very strong regulation that supports good animal welfare outcomes. We have a framework in place which focuses continually on making sure that we improve and to make sure that the industry meets the community's expectations. There are standards for things like vessel preparation, sourcing, loading and on-board management of livestock—making sure that things like ventilation, drainage, stock densities and the provision of food and water to animals on these vessels are absolutely first class. We always make sure that there is an accredited stockperson on board the ship and in many instances there is a veterinarian as well. The framework also includes processes to investigate when a situation does occur and there is an incident. But we need to remember the overwhelming number of voyages that leave Australia with live animals on board are undertaken without any incident at all. The government absolutely condemns cruelty to animals and that's why we put in place a world-class— (Time expired)