From the Liveblog of
Sunday, June 16, 2024
Animal rights group slams Agriculture Ministry for failing to stop ‘vile’ live export of animals
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
An animal rights group campaigning to stop the live shipment of animals to Israel for fattening and slaughter slams the Israeli Agriculture Ministry for its lack of action to stop what it calls a “shameful and vile industry.”
This follows an announcement by the Israeli ministry that from May 2028, Australian live lamb exports will cease worldwide, following an Australian government decision.
Australia is one of the world’s biggest exporters of sheep meat. In 2022–23, the estimated value of Australia’s sheep meat exports was $4.5 billion. However, of this, live shipments accounted for less than 2% of this trade, at around $77 million.
According to the explanatory notes for an Australian parliamentary bill to halt the live exports, the demand for live sheep, which are fattened at their country of destination before slaughter, is mostly driven by Middle Eastern customers who prefer to slaughter the animals according to their cultural or religious customs.
The bill also says that the export of live animals “could” entail significant risks to their welfare.
Animal rights groups from Australia, Israel and elsewhere have repeatedly provided evidence for the substandard conditions on livestock ships, where animals often bathe in their own excrement.
As recently as April, more than 14,000 animals destined for fattening and slaughter in Israel arrived at Haifa Port after more than three months in transit — in one of the longest-ever such shipments from Australia — after the journey was diverted by Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping.
A statement from Israel Against Live Shipments says, “While progressive countries like Australia are finally understanding the severity of the suffering and cruelty involved in transporting live animals across continents and are taking action to end this shameful and vile industry, Israel continues to bury its head in the sand and ignore the atrocity against animals in live exports.”
In November 2018, the Knesset passed a bill to stop live exports in a preliminary reading that garnered no opposition.
If passed into law, the bill, put forward by Likud MK Miki Zohar, would have stopped the imports within three years and switched completely to imported chilled meat.
A month later, a law to dissolve the Knesset was approved, heralding four years of inconclusive elections and political instability.
