Live sheep ban is ‘futile’, emirate warns Australia
Kuwait has warned the Albanese government that its proposed ban on live sheep exports is effectively futile because the emirate will not buy any more chilled meat from Australia and will simply source livestock from other countries instead.
In a letter to Agriculture Minister Murray Watt, Kuwait’s Commerce and Industry Minister, Mohammad Othman Al Aiban, said the ban threatened to damage broader trade and economic ties between Australia and the region.
Mr Al Aiban pleaded with him to dump the ban, saying Australian sheep were crucial to food security and social stability in the Middle East.
WA Farmers president John Hassell, Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council CEO Mark Harvey-Sutton, Jo Hall of Wool Producers Australia and Geoff Pearson, the WA Farmers Livestock president. Alex Ellinghausen
“Regrettably, the Australian government is showing very little deference to this considering what the trade has and currently means for both countries and the region in general,” said the letter, obtained by The Australian Financial Review.
“Our government… will not be lessening its stance on the importance we place on live animal exports. They are of significant relevance to our religious, cultural and social stability.”
Animal activists have campaigned to shut down the trade, but exporters warn that Kuwait’s intention to seek live exports from elsewhere could produce worse outcomes for animal welfare because other countries do not impose the same high standards Australia requires on voyages.
Mr Al Aiban’s letter comes as thousands of sheep will set sail to the Middle East on Saturday in the first export voyage of the year.
Labor promised at the last election to phase out live sheep exports and has appointed a panel to advise on
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