Live sheep export meetings criticised for lack of notice

Public meetings are being held across regional Western Australian towns this week and follow on from consultation meetings held in Perth in March.

The independent panel has been tasked with making recommendations around an implementation plan and timeframe for phasing out the live export of sheep by sea.

Sheep Producers Australia CEO Bonnie Skinner said like many, she found out about the meetings via social media.

"I think the feedback on the ground has consistently been around the very short time frames of which people are being asked to come and engage with this panel, which is pretty disappointing, given the significance of this issue to people's livelihoods in WA," she said.

"They need to go out into the regions and consult, so I'm glad they are doing that but it can not be done with less than 48 hours notice.

"That makes people extremely suspicious and sets up for a relationship that's based in a bit of mistrust when these sorts of things happen, which is not the way industry should be looking to engage with this process."

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It comes as the industry continues to highlight improved animal welfare conditions on export vessels as part of the fight against the phase out.

Last week The Livestock Collective held a live sheep and cattle vessel tour at Fremantle Port, which was attended by representatives from WAFarmers, Sheep Producers Australia and Cattle Australia.

Managing director of The Livestock Collective Holly Ludeman said as a veterinarian, live export had been her gateway to the world.

"My role in compliance in an industry that has an unwavering commitment to improve animal welfare outcomes means that I can collaboratively have an influence in global standards and that is something I am really proud of," she said.

WAFarmers livestock president Geoff Pearson said the tour was intended to demonstrate how the live sheep and cattle industries work well side by side and both uphold high animal welfare standards.

"A strong live export market allows producers to specialise and produce sheep tailored to the market and correspondingly attract premium returns for their product," he said.

"Live exports puts competition into the market, adding competition to domestic demand and supporting farm gate returns whether it's sheep or cattle - one aspect of live export can't be stopped as it will be detrimental to the other."

Data collated by market analysis service Episode 3 shows that even as the volume of live sheep exported from Australia has declined, other nations, notably Romania, have seen significant growth.

Episode 3 market analyst Matt Dalgliesh said in 2019 about five million head of live sheep had been traded globally, increasing to more than 7 million head in 2021.

"If you look at the Australian scenario we've gone from over a million head down to 800,000 head over the same time frame so we've been showing a reasonable decline in numbers during the time the global market has increased its appetite," he said.

"If you look at numbers of head to key destinations in the Middle East... a country like Romania, whose a big exporter of live sheep within the European area and into the Middle East, they've more than doubled their flows over the last five years.

"Then you've got other countries that are small but growing like Somalia that's had an increase in their global footprint... Sudan occasionally has been involved, not in big volumes but we are seeing countries that aren't necessarily renowned for animal rights and welfare standards taking our position at the table."