Animals en route from Australia to Southeast Asia and the Middle East continue to face hardships, but there is a glimmer of hope heading into the new year after the Indonesian government is reportedly looking at ending live cattle imports from Australia “within a few years.” The government statements in Jakarta come as Australia continues to push more animals to new markets and bolster existing ones, noticeably in the Middle East, Egypt and Turkey, despite concerns of animal rights organizations over the brutal conditions and inhumane areas the animals are forced to persist in. “The horrendous practices documented inside Indonesian slaughterhouses by Animals Australia earlier this year sparked an enormous public outcry calling for an end to the live export trade,” said Animals Australia Executive Director Glenys Oogjes in a statement. “For the very first time, the Australian public saw a glimpse of hidden practices that were known to the live export industry for more than a decade. 2011 was a watershed moment in Australia, as images of brutally beaten, tortured and slaughtered animals as part of the live export industry from the country saw massive outpouring of anger and numerous calls for the end of the controversial practice. However, it has not resulted in any tangible bans, despite short one-month bans on exports to Indonesia during the summer. “Despite public opposition, the live export industry continues to expand its trade into new markets with the full knowledge that the routine slaughter practices in importing countries fall well below the standards expected by the Australian community,” Oogies continued. “The Gillard Government's new rules for live export permits, which are being rolled out to all markets over the next 12 months, do not require animals to be stunned before slaughter. As a result, millions of cattle and sheep will not only still face the grueling sea voyage to foreign countries, those that survive will still risk brutal slaughter without stunning in overseas abattoirs,” the organization's chief continued. Still, there are many activists who believe that the public opinion change can have positive effects moving ahead into 2012. Jamie Thompson, a Sydney-based animal advocate and campaigner to end the live export trade, told Bikyamasr.com via telephone that the industry is “on it's last breath.” She argued that “throughout this year, never before had the live export trade been so appalling and public, with videos online revealing the true nature of such disgusting treatment of living beings.” For her, and others in Australia and around the world, the live export trade has become synonymous with animal cruelty, leaving many to question if the industry, despite its massive lobby in Australia, can survive. For Animals Australia, the move by Indonesia is at least a small bright spot heading into the new year, but they hope more decisions like it will be implemented. “Indonesia's decision to dramatically reduce cattle imports from Australia demonstrates again that this is a high risk industry not only for animals, but for those rural communities that have become too economically reliant upon it,” Oogies said. “It is unconscionable that after the Australian public has so clearly voiced their outrage at the live export of cattle to Indonesia this year, that the Gillard Government will continue support the expansion of the trade in live animals to other countries where similar atrocities occur. The only way that animals can be protected from the cruelty of live export is for the Australian Government to ban it,” concluded Oogjes. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Mh3KB Tags: Animal Cruelty, Australia, featured, Indonesia, Live Export Section: Animals, East Asia, Latest News, Oceana
