The Moss Review into the regulation of live animal exports is further proof the trade needs to be shut down.
Some of the recommendations are welcome, for example the establishment of an independent Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports and more random inspections on ships. These recommendations are completely meaningless, however, unless the Government acts on them in full. Sure, the Minister has said he will implement all the recommendations but the fact is the Government will likely say anything to get people to move on and forget about the horrific cruelty.
In any case, even if the Government implements these recommendations, it is only a small improvement to a trade that is systemically cruel. The Government can tweak around the edges all it likes, but the only way to stop the cruelty is to stop the trade. There is simply no amount of regulation that can make live export not cruel.
It’s also unforgivable that the Government has silenced its critics in the Parliament by giving them ministerial posts in an attempt to stop them supporting a ban on live sheep exports.
I will shortly again introduce to Parliament a Private Member’s Bill to ban live export. This will be the seventh bill I’ve introduced to end the cruelty and I hope it will get support, particularly among the expanded crossbench. I also hope that government and opposition members who’ve spoken out about the trade will show some backbone and support the bill.
