Thousands of livestock were reloaded onto the MV Bahija on Saturday, ahead of its second attempt to travel to the Middle East.
It comes after an Israel-based company was given permission on Friday to re-export the thousands of sheep and cattle, which spent more than a month stranded off the Western Australia coast due to global shipping problems.
This latest development has angered the animal justice party with around 50 protestors taking action in Fremantle on Saturday afternoon, demanding an end to live exports.
Its still unclear when exactly the ship will leave from the Fremantle Port but it could be by the end of this weekend.
Four cattle and 64 sheep died before they could all be unloaded at Fremantle Port in the middle of last month, leaving the rest of the consignment’s future up in the air.
The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry previously blocked a bid by Israel-based company Bassem Dabbah to send the 2000-odd cattle and 14,000 sheep the long way around via the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, saying it couldn’t be satisfied the arrangements would ensure the animals’ health and welfare.
Then, last night, the department said it had approved a notice of intention to re-export the animals to Israel, sparking criticism from the RSPCA.
“All consignments of livestock exported from Australia are subject to inspection by departmental veterinarians to ensure they are fit for export and meet all importing country requirements.”
The short statement didn’t provide reasons for the latest decision beyond saying it was “made in accordance with the requirements of the Export Control Act 2020”.
But the reasons for rejecting the previous application might provide a clue. At the time, welfare and regulation division acting first assistant secretary Andrew McDonald noted Israeli authorities preferred the animals be offloaded in Australia and “spelled” before making another trip.
RSPCA Australia chief science officer Dr Suzie Fowler said the “gruelling sea journey” would be the longest live export of sheep in recent memory.
“This is on top of what they’ve already been through, with an aborted journey to the Middle East and back, not to mention several days sitting off the coast of Western Australia,” she said.
“We know that live export poses cumulative and unacceptable welfare risks to sheep – and this will be especially the case for these sheep who have suffered a circuitous, and most of all, completely unnecessary, journey.”
Israeli animal rights groups Let Animals Live and Animals Now had also previously called for their government to block the transport.
