CAIRO: As the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha comes to a close and animal rights advocates across the globe mourn the mass killing of millions of animals, the live export trade to the Middle East has again come under increasing pressure. The industry leader, Australia, came under fire earlier this month after releasing images of horrific treatment of cattle during transport and then slaughter in the Middle East. The meat industry was forced to defend its position, with MLA/LiveCorp livestock services manager for Africa and the Middle East, Peter Dundon, saying in a press release that “Eid al Adha is an important Islamic religious festival where local families and communities buy sheep and share the meat with family, friends and poorer members of the community.” The $1.2 billion industry will see new ships employed for the exporting of live animals, mainly cattle, to the Middle East, despite calls from animal rights groups to end what they have repeatedly said is constant “inhumane” treatment. The executive director of the live export company Wellard, Steve Meerwald, was reported to have been traveling throughout the Middle East and elsewhere in search of new customers, Australia's ABC News reported. “There's been a significant reliance on exports to Indonesia, smaller destinations in South East Asia and the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council],” he told ABC News. “But we're now seeing a reinvigoration of some past markets and Egypt is a case in point; countries like Turkey, Russia, China, Mexico.” Meerwald added that there is increasing demand for animals for breeding purposes and herd expansion. “Like South East Asia it started with small numbers, but there is certainly the knowledge, the awareness and the skills now and the vessels to be able to take increasingly large numbers on the long haul trade,” he said. “Very successful shipments of bigger numbers going to Russia and that looks like expanding even further.” The announcement came as the Australian government said it would not send sheep to the Middle East ahead of the annual Eid al-Adha slaughter. The move was praised by animal groups in Australia and across the world, but condemned by scholars and Egyptians. Animals Australia was the most ardent proponent of the ban, criticizing the Egyptian government over their use of the animals. “Vision of sheep tied to roof racks of cars, bound and shoved into car boots in extreme temperatures, and trussed on their backs in trucks shocked the Australian public and proved the new Memorandum of Understanding between Egypt and Australia—in which the Egyptian government committed to treating Australian animals in accordance with international standards—worthless,” the Australian-based animal rights organization said in a statement on its website. But, in Egypt, where the Islamic holiday is taken as a necessity, Islamic scholars at al-Azhar – the Arab world's most prominent Islamic authority – were increasingly angry with the ban, saying it is an anti-religious stance based in “racist” ideology. Sheikh Yussif Gama'a from al-Azhar, told Bikya Masr that the Australian government is “participating in more anti-Islam behavior that has nothing to do with animal welfare.” He argued that sheep that are sacrificed in the feast are given the “utmost care and humanely killed for the purpose of progressing one's faith.” The move to not export thousands of sheep to Egypt will mean less animals available for the slaughter, but Goma'a says Egypt will be able to secure other sources for the “important Islamic holiday.” A spokesman for the ministry of agriculture said that Australia has long been concerned about the impact of the long voyage that animals must make to Egypt and “this was largely part of the issue. We have to come to a compromise in order to keep our traditions.” The official, who did not give his name, said that “Islamic tradition is important and all Egyptians who are Muslim believe in the right to fulfill our religious obligations.” But report after report from Animals Australia and other rights groups have said otherwise. They have shown video of cattle trampling one another on the ship to Egypt and have demanded an end to the “horrific conditions animals are placed into” when being exported to the Middle East. In 2005, Australia did put a moratorium on cattle live exports to Egypt, but in the past year, this ban has been lifted. Egypt currently imports all cattle for meat. “As a direct result of Animals Australia's exposure of cruel treatment in Egypt, tens of thousands of Australian sheep will be spared unimaginable cruelty, while international outrage at Egyptian treatment of animals has sparked nation-wide public and political focus in Egypt about the importance of animal welfare,” Animals Australia added. BM
