The Pearl of Para(lysis) has sailed

On September 3, the Pearl of Para first left Fremantle bound for Israel. Less than two days out, it broke down with 5,240 hapless cattle on board. It was a significant breakdown, a broken propeller shaft coupling, yet the exporter, Alan Schmidt, aided and abetted by DAFF, chose to leave the cattle on board, not even knowing how long the repairs would take.

He claimed that this was better for the ‘welfare’ of the cattle, when in reality, in my view, it was better for his own welfare, because the costs of unloading, quarantining and re-loading the animals would have been prohibitive. A similar event, involving an even older ship, the Al Messilah in Adelaide two years ago saw the sheep unloaded and put into quarantine, and Australia’s Chief Veterinarian said at the time that the quarantine was necessary because of ‘diseases the animals could have caught on the ship’.

His comments bore out what we already suspect – that DAFF relies upon statements from the captains of these third world ships that they have been properly cleaned and disinfected. DAFF carries out no testing itself, and these are captains of third world, flag of convenience registered ships.

The RSPCA in South Australia was forced to obtain a warrant to board the Al Messilah.

It was reported also that in addition to the unknown duration of the delay for repairs to the Pearl of Para, Schmidt had arranged for it to make a further detour to the Maldives to pick up security guards to deter pirate attacks, because his daughter was on board as a junior stockman.

Story here:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/wa/18922115/pirate-threat-daughter-sway-exporter/

The Pearl of Para sat off Cockburn Sound and Gage Road for over two weeks, and on or about Sunday September 14, it was moved out to north of Rottnest Island for ‘cleaning’. By this time the Brahman cross cattle had been on board the fully enclosed ship for about 12 days. Observers said that the filth observed in its wake as it returned closer to the port was indescribable and noxious, yet the exporter and DAFF thought it was acceptable to keep the animals on board, based on assurances from the exporter employed and paid veterinarian and DAFF personnel that their welfare was ‘not compromised’.

In another surprising twist, RSPCA Western Australia was allowed onto the ship – AFTER the cleaning had taken place, and also provided assurances that the cattle were ‘just fine’. There are two live export farmers on the Board of RSPCA WA, so there was an immediate conflict of interest in anything it had to say. Why did it not obtain a warrant to board the ship BEFORE cleaning took place? However it was a small step in the right direction that they boarded the ship at all.

It finally sailed on September 19 with its pitiful cargo facing at the very least another 3-4 weeks mired in their own excrement and being suffocated by ammonia fumes. In 2012, on a voyage from the USA to Russia, 400 dairy cattle died on the Pearl of Para from suffocation after a ventilation failure.

No-one appears to have actually done a head count to ensure that there were still 5,240 cattle on board, in other words none had disappeared over the side during cleaning. It has been reported that there was unusual shark activity in the area at the time, and shark attacks off the coast of WA have consistently been linked to the presence of live export ships in the area. We are assured by the exporter and by DAFF that there were 5,240 cattle on board, however, no-one properly independent has been allowed near it to confirm that.

If the ‘normal’ voyage to Israel takes three weeks, this will mean that the cattle will be on this fully enclosed ship for close to 6 weeks, potentially longer if it makes a diversion to the Maldives. The only other voyage similar in duration was when the Maysora caught fire in the Mediterranean fully loaded with Australian sheep in 2011, taking 41 days to reach Turkey. DAFF provided assurances then too that the sheep’s welfare had not been compromised. Voyages of over 35 days are not uncommon.

Israel has been described as one of Australia’s ‘top’ markets for cattle, yet BanLiveExports had this to say about it:

‘In May and June this year, Israeli investigators filmed the unloading of two Australian livestock vessels at the Port of Eilat, in Israel. The ships — operated by Livestock Shipping Services and Wellard Rural Exports — were carrying thousands of Australian sheep and cattle who had been bought from farms in South Australia and Western Australia.

Walking off a ship after weeks at sea should have offered temporary relief for these animals. But instead they faced cruelty and abuse the minute they stepped outside onto the ship’s unloading ramp.

Despite still being under the control of the exporters, and with an Australian government veterinarian onsite, video evidence reveals stockmen brutally kicking, punching and throwing sheep on the unloading ramp. Sheep too weak or sick to stand and walk unaided were dragged by one leg, roughly handled and thrown over other animals on the ramp. Footage also reveals cattle being hit in the face with sticks.

This shocking cruelty made national headlines in Israel in what the media described as ‘harsh and brutal violence’ to exhausted animals after their long journey from Australia.

Upon being made aware of this evidence, Animals Australia immediately lodged formal complaints with the Department of Agriculture citing numerous live export breaches. The Department’s investigation is ongoing.

These latest incidents of live export cruelty show once again that regulations are failing to protect animals — exporters cannot even guarantee the proper treatment of animals while they are still on the ship and under their direct care. These incidents also reinforce why onboard veterinarians who report to the Australian government should not be engaged and paid by the exporter. This abuse happened directly under ‘their watch’ and continued unabated’.

http://www.banliveexport.com/take_action/disembarkation-cruelty

An earlier complaint about a slaughterhouse in Israel was dismissed by DAFF because the animals had been sent there were sent prior to that country being accepted under the ESCAS system. This facility had been ‘audited’ a couple of months prior to the complaint, with the only failure being listed as a rusty gate. The film footage showed animals being handled with extreme violence.

‘Video footage taken in September – October 2012 shows Australian cattle being punched, kicked and beaten — with the worst cruelty inflicted on ‘downer’ animals who could no longer move or stand up. Evidence documented shows one lame bull poked with an electrified prodder over 100 times — in his face, eyes, ears, anus and genitals — the entire time bellowing in pain and distress as he made futile attempts to escape his tormentor. Painful electric prodders are used routinely in Bakar Tnuva to abuse animals.

‘In April 2013 the Federal Department of Agriculture released the results of its investigation into this incident. The only action taken was to require a second audit of the facility which concluded that it was operating in accordance with ESCAS standards and DAFF again approved it to take Australian animals.

Incomprehensibly — DAFF did not investigate how the first audit could have overlooked key deficiencies and inappropriate practices to consider the abattoir appropriate in the first place’.
http://www.banliveexport.com/Israel

Wellards’ Ocean Drover has just left Eilat after delivering yet another shipload of misery to Israel, and the Pearl of Para will arrive there within weeks.

Why does the Australian government not suspend exports of our animals to countries that are under investigation? Investigations outstanding for periods of several months – including one in Mauritius dating back to an incident in October 2012, but also in Kuwait, Egypt, Malaysia and Vietnam remain outstanding. StopTAC has been informed by DAFF that investigations take between 6-8 months. DAFF has never yet applied a penalty of any substance or meaning to any exporter (even Wellards over the Pakistan atrocity) and has failed abysmally to protect a single animal. The ESCAS system is reactive, not proactive; that is, it relies upon complaints from organisations like Animals Australia, without whom none of this systemic and shocking animal abuse would have come to light. Indonesia, the country to whom Australia is grovelling the most, has been the subject of multiple complaints, and DAFF has let all the exporters off, or applied a meaningless and generally cost-neutral condition upon their licence.

And you can basically forget about any efforts at transparency and accountability at DAFF. StopTAC recently submitted a FOI request asking for the film footage and documentation relating to the Vietnam complaint, only to be told that it would cost over $3,100 to progress the request and it will not be dealt with until after the 6-8 months that the investigation will take. Moreover, DAFF will not be releasing the film footage ‘in the interests of child welfare’ (yes, really). Apparently it is too shocking to take the risk of children seeing it. Who would have believed that part of DAFF’s remit was child welfare?

An earlier FOI relating to the incident of the 21,000 sheep sent from Bahrain to be savagely butchered in Pakistan, for which StopTAC paid a deposit, has all but disappeared. The exporters, we are told, can object to the release of any information, so the matter is referred to the Office of the Information Commissioner – which is 18 months behind in its work. So nothing is ‘free’ (despite these people being paid by the taxpayer), and you will never get any information in anything approaching a timely manner. If and when you do get anything, it is substantially blacked out because of ‘commercial in confidence’ provisions and so much time has elapsed that many more atrocities will have surfaced.

If we thought this was bad under a Labor government, it is going to be so, so much worse under the coalition, which is slavishly promoting and working to expand this atrocity, despite the fact that 86% of the voting public believe that live exports are cruel and inhumane. Barnaby Joyce and Tony Abbott are off to Indonesia to try and get more of our cattle sent there. Interestingly, Australia gave Indonesia about $20 million to expand its own cattle herd, and gives it about $600 million in foreign aid – which Indonesia now wants to spend buying up Australian cattle properties. Australia cannot be described as the ‘clever’ country, can it?

Suzanne Cass

Stop Tasmanian Animal Cruelty
PO Box 252
BRIDGEWATER TAS 7030
www.stoptac.org
www.liveexportshame.com