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On Livestock Processing ‘Action’ …
Media release – Jo Palmer, Minister for Primary Industries and Water, 14 December 2023
New Taskforce to strengthen animal welfare across livestock processing
The Tasmanian Liberal Government will not tolerate any actions that tarnish the world-class reputation of Tasmania’s brand, and its produce.
The recently released footage obtained from livestock processing facilities in Tasmania is deeply concerning and completely unacceptable.
Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Jo Palmer said the Tasmanian Government was taking immediate action to ensure we see the highest standard of animal welfare across our livestock processing industry.
“We have immediately stood up an investigative team which has already hit the ground, gathering evidence, interviewing operators, and carefully reviewing all the footage against the provisions of the animal welfare act and the primary produce safety act,” Minister Palmer said.
“The Tasmanian Government is establishing a Taskforce to develop new Tasmanian standards for animal welfare in livestock-processing establishments and to look at practical and meaningful actions to ensure the wellbeing of animals.
“The Taskforce – which will be formalised before Christmas – will bring together all the key stakeholders including organisations and peak bodies such as the RSPCA, Tas Farmers (formerly the TFGA) and industry representatives.
“Resourcing of Biosecurity Tasmania will also be bolstered with two additional positions to work with industry to make sure they are aware of, and comply with, their obligations.
“The importance of abattoirs for jobs and regional communities cannot be understated, but we must demand the highest standards of animal welfare,” Minister Palmer said.
“This is what our farmers expect, it is what our community expects, and it is certainly what our Government expects.
“We have acted to protect the local, national and international reputation of our vital red meat industry.
“We will not allow the actions of some to put at risk our brand and reputation as a world leading agricultural producer, to risk jobs and livelihoods in regional communities and to create uncertainty for our farmers.”
Media release – Animal Liberation Tasmania, 14 December 2023
Minister Jo Palmer big on words, weak on action
Animal Liberation Tasmania condemns Minister Jo Palmer’s weak response on the footage released from five separate Tasmanian slaughterhouses.
Despite the apparent agreement between many sectors of society, including animal activists and farmers who are so often diametrically opposed on issues relating to animals, Palmer’s official response is little short of pathetic.
The community watched as seven day old calves blinked and kicked as their throats were cut. We watched as one dropped onto the floor to spend their last moments drowning in blood. Sheep were repeatedly stabbed and electrocuted only to also have their throats cut whilst consciously responding. They were kicked, thrown, punched, beaten.
Rather than taking decisive action in response to these atrocities, Palmer has opted for the soft touch, trying to obscure the reality of Tasmania’s killing factories in defence of an indefensible industry.
Animal Liberation Tasmania would like to see all such places closed for good. However, in the interim period, independently monitored CCTV must be mandated for all slaughterhouse in the state. Those facilities who cannot or will not install CCTV must have their operating licences revoked.
Further, animal sentience must be enshrined in the animal welfare act for all animals, not just pets. And an Independent Office of Animal Welfare must be established, to oversee the operations of these facilities and prevent the most egregious acts of animal cruelty from being perpetrated.
The state of animal care in Tasmania is woeful, with the neglect and cruelty exposed in the greyhound industry, thousands of lambs dying in paddocks every winter, the exponential expansion of aquatic battery farms across waterways, and the decimation of essential animal habitat by forestry, mining, and urban sprawl. And now we see clearly the reality of Tasmania’s killing factories laid bare. It is beyond time Tasmania began to actively give a damn about animals.
Palmer talked a big game in response to the release of this footage from TQM and others. But the minister, like so many before her, is manifestly weak on action.
Media release – Janie Finlay MP, Shadow Minister for Primary Industries and Water, Shadow Minister for Small Business, 14 December 2023
Liberals’ underwhelming response puts Tasmanian brand at risk
While Tasmanian Labor welcomes measures to strengthen animal welfare and livestock processing across the state, today’s announcement by Minister Jo Palmer is completely underwhelming and should be taken with a grain of salt.
It is the Government’s job to regulate the industry and they haven’t been doing their job. The Government has failed to resource their own departments properly.
It demonstrates that the Rockliff Government hasn’t taken Tuesday’s motion to install CCTV cameras at all licenced Tasmanian abattoirs seriously and that they don’t seem to understand the level of urgency required to address the issues.
Let me be clear, there is absolutely no place for animal cruelty in Tasmania.
How is it that critically important regulatory work is only being completed now given the significant implications this could have for the state’s economy, agricultural sector and our Tasmanian brand?
It’s yet another example of this 10-year-old Liberal government being caught out by their own incompetence.
It’s just not good enough and Tasmania deserves better.
Media release – Rosalie Woodruff MP, Greens Leader, 15 December 2023
Palmer Trots Out Slaughterhouse Industry Spin, Refuses to Act
The Minister for Primary Industries’ hopelessly inadequate response to animal cruelty in Tasmanian slaughterhouses has already been further undermined by her statements on statewide radio today.
When she announced the unnecessary new taskforce yesterday, Minister Palmer spoke about needing to address cultural issues across the meat industry. By this morning, however, she’d reverted to the industry’s talking points that animal cruelty is isolated to the bad behaviour of a handful of staff.
Animal activists installed cameras in a quarter of Tasmania’s abattoirs, and in every single one of them horrific and illegal animal cruelty was recorded. The footage shows systemic, ongoing cruelty, not just a few ‘bad apples’.
Given the widespread and regular cruelty exposed by animal activists, how can Jo Palmer claim there’s nothing to worry about at other Tasmanian slaughterhouses? How could she possibly be sure when her government hasn’t even looked?
Minister Palmer has no excuse for not immediately introducing mandatory, independently-monitored CCTV, and seizing existing footage from all Tasmanian slaughterhouses. To her shame, in the space of a week the Minister has gone from saying no actions to prevent cruelty are off the table, to taking no action at all.
The Minister’s comments make it clear she hopes people will turn up to the supermarket to buy their Christmas ham, and forget all about the brutal manner in which it may have got there.
Farmers, animal advocates, and people from all walks of life have been outraged and distressed by the graphic slaughterhouses footage. The community expects immediate action, but instead all we’ve got is a talkfest.
Tasmanian slaughterhouses need mandatory CCTV and government regulation. Jo Palmer seems more interested in pandering to the meat industry with a Christmas time whitewash than better protecting tens of thousands of innocent animals from horrifying, illegal cruelty.