New footage of cruelty to Australian livestock

The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie joins Lyn White from Animals Australia ( http://www.animalsaustralia.org/ ) to release new footage of cruelty to Australian livestock exported to Egypt and announce another attempt to progress legislation to ban the trade.

Mr Wilkie said his Bill would phase out live exports in three years, as well as immediately impose mandatory stunning of Australian livestock slaughtered overseas.

“The live export industry is systemically cruel, opposed by the vast majority of Australians and not in our economic interests,” Mr Wilkie said.

“This latest evidence of horrific animal cruelty in Egypt demonstrates that this trade will never have appropriate animal welfare outcomes and must be stopped.

“I have given formal notice of my intention to introduce the Live Animal Export (Restriction and Prohibition) Bill 2013 into Federal Parliament.

“A similar Bill was rejected by the Government and Opposition in August 2011. Since then we have seen shocking evidence of more live export cruelty in Kuwait, Pakistan, Israel, Egypt and Indonesia.

“It is my hope that the Government and Opposition will now see sense and support the end of this cruel trade.”