The Australian meatworkers union has formed an unlikely alliance with animal welfare activists opposing the live export trade. The Australian Meat Industry Employees Union said live exports were crippling the meat processing industry and costing jobs in regional Australia at a joint press conference with the World Society for the Protection of Animals held this morning.

WSPA’s program manager Emily Reeves said the Federal Government should halt the live export trade for both economic and animal welfare reasons. Despite recent federal government attempts to improve animal welfare in export countries, she said a recent investigation in the Middle East had gathered video footage showing that cruelty and mishandling of Australian animals continued.

“We’ve got the economic data to show live export is bad business, we’ve got a rural industry crippled through poorly thought-out Government policy and we’ve got yet more proof that Australian animals are being handled and slaughtered in a way that would horrify Australians,” Ms Reeves said.

Source: The Age

Anna Claxton

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