| February
7, 2006
LIVE
EXPORT AGENTS ALREADY HAVE CRUELTY CONVICTIONS, SAY ANIMAL ADVOCATES
Against Animal Cruelty Tasmania
(AACT) claims that Roberts Limited, currently in merger arrangements with
NSW company RuralCo, was convicted of cruelty under various sections of
the Animal Welfare Act in 2002, relating to the transport of animals at
the Powranna saleyard in 2002.
AACT has newspaper reports
and court papers detailing the 2002 convictions, when Roberts and its
livestock manager Chris Taylor were convicted of cruelty under the Animal
Welfare Act in relation to three cattle, one a heifer driven onto a truck
with a broken leg, who was described in one report as “frothing
at the mouth” . The animal was described as in such poor condition
with bruising that “half of it was (even) unsuitable for pet meat”.
Live Export Campaign Co-ordinator
Suzanne Cass said:-
“Roberts, and Chris
Taylor personally, were found guilty of several breaches of the Act
in the form of omitting a duty”, and “causing unreasonable
pain and suffering to an animal”, forcing one cow with a broken
leg, and other “downed” animals, to drag themselves to trucks,
and then not doing anything about providing any treatment whatsoever
for them.
“According to the documents
we have, the animals were left suffering for some hours before any effort
was made to destroy them, never mind providing them with assistance
or pain relief”, Ms Cass continued.
“This is the same organization
which has sole responsibility for the transport of animals from the
feedlot at Nook to the live export vessel “Al Messilah”
next week. AACT was in Devonport during the last two live export loadings,
and we saw some terrible conditions on the animal transports.
 
Devonport
loading of the “Al Shuwaikh”, 2003
“It is a matter of
enormous concern to us that, regardless of who owns this organization,
there is a history of such a poor attitude to even the basic welfare
of animals, as well as appalling cruelty on the part of the company
itself, and on the part of its livestock manager. We have also been
monitoring Roberts’ saleyards, and animals are regularly left
there, totally unsupervised, without food or water on weekends, regardless
of the weather. One example is two pens of calves found on the recent
Sunday without food or water when it was 40 degrees, and the calves
were terribly distressed, even trying to get into the empty water toughs.
“We do not believe
that these people, and this company, should have ANY role in the management,
or transport of ANY animals for ANY distance” Ms Cass stated.
State Secretary of the AMIEU,
Grant Courtney, said:
“The AMIEU is appalled
to hear of these cruelty convictions against Roberts and its livestock
manager for animal cruelty, and we echo AACT’s concerns for the
welfare of these animals to be exported in shocking conditions, and
the appalling cruelty and slaughter practices they face in importing
countries”.
AACT says that it will be monitoring
every truck movement between the Nook feedlot and the Devonport wharf
area to ensure that all legislative and Code of Practice standards are
strictly complied with, and that no animal suffers during the transport.
“Isn’t it bad
enough that these animals have to face a shocking- and unnecessary -
journey, and an appallingly cruel death importing countries without
them having to suffer so unreasonably while they are still in Tasmania?”
Ms Cass concluded
AACT is also expressing concerns
about the environmental damage the feedlotting spell for the 50,000 animals
may be causing, in the form of effluent run-off into waterways, threatening
native wildlife, and dust and noise.
Digital and video footage will
be available upon request.
For further information,
please contact Live Export Campaign Co-ordinator, Suzanne Cass, 0414 726935.
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