Farmers slam MacTiernan over ‘disturbing’ Animal Welfare Advisory Committee

WA’s peak farming bodies have blasted the State Government for not including any livestock producers on its “dangerous” new Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, despite appointing two members with connections to animal rights groups.

INDEPENDENT MEDIA COUNCIL: Determination, Dawn Lowe and The Countryman, August 27, 2022

But WA Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan was quick to return fire, accusing WAFarmers and the Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA of “fearmongering”.

The war of words followed last week’s announcement of the six-person committee, which has been tasked with providing “independent advice” on animal welfare matters to Ms MacTiernan and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.

The announcement was immediately slammed by WAFarmers and the PGA, who expressed outrage over the inclusion of Animals’ Angels project leader Dawn Lowe and Voiceless Scientific Expert Advisory Council member Clive Phillips.

WAFarmers president John Hassell described the lack of industry representation on the committee as “disturbing”.

That was despite the inclusion of Kimberley Pilbara Cattlemen’s Association president and former cattle station manager Michael Sheehy, who Mr Hassell said had academic and business qualifications but lacked practical experience.

“This is not someone who’s actually in the practice of (livestock production) . . . it’s not someone who’s getting their boots dirty,” he told Countryman.

“How often have we seen academics come out to the bush and try and tell us how it’s done and fail miserably? It just beggars belief.”

Mr Hassell said only those “with skin in the game” knew how the industry worked and the fact they had been snubbed was “dangerous”.

“Farmers — and I mean real farmers — actually have the animal welfare concerns of their livestock uppermost in their minds; they don’t want animals in a bad way,” he said.

“The problem areas are the peri-urban areas, where you’ve got 120-odd thousand sites where animals are neglected.

“That’s where the problem is, not with farmers, so let’s have a farmer on there to make sure farmers aren’t unfairly targeted.”

PGA president Tony Seabrook accused Ms MacTiernan of carefully selecting the committee to ensure “a certain outcome”, saying it was a “dangerous” move that the entire WA livestock industry should be concerned about.

“With over 13 million sheep and two million cattle under their daily control, WA farmers and pastoralists are the primary advocates for animal welfare in this State, and it is disappointing, to put it politely, that the minister has chosen to appoint her inaugural Animal Welfare Advisory Body without any current livestock producers,” he said.

“Given that the committee’s role will be to provide independent advice to the minister on animal welfare policy, legislation, regulations and standards, as well as training and compliance standards for animal welfare inspectors, it is most concerning that these current appointees have very little experience around the table in dealing with the complexities of modern livestock production.”

Mr Seabrook said there were “no stronger advocates for positive animal welfare outcomes” than those in the WA livestock industry.

“It is incredulous that the minister would not select a single livestock producer, livestock transporter, or live exporter to provide their skills and knowledge in developing sound, modern and scientific-based animal welfare outcomes for the State,” he said.

Ms MacTiernan described Mr Seabrook and Mr Hassell’s responses as “entirely predictable”, adding that “smart farmers know good animal welfare is absolutely central to the future of the livestock industry”.

“The existential threat to the industry is the number of consumers choosing plant-based products because of animal welfare and climate concerns,” she said.

“I am fighting hard to sell the story that livestock are an essential part of the sustainable farming system.

“To do this, we need to have a credible animal welfare system that meets community expectations.”

Ms MacTiernan said Ms Lowe was selected because she had “probably the best knowledge in the State of livestock standards and regulations”.

She described committee chair Dr Phillips — who previously chaired the Queensland Government’s Animal Welfare Advisory Committee — as “an animal scientist with decades of experience in livestock welfare”.

“The Animal Welfare Advisory Committee is not designed to be a representative body, made up of industry representatives arguing their case,” Ms MacTiernan said.

“The previous government tried that model, and the committee was disbanded after just two meetings.

“The point of the committee is to provide scientific and technical advice to the Government on animal welfare issues.

“Whenever our Government is deciding animal welfare policy related to agriculture, the industry will be consulted.

“This committee is not the arbiter of animal welfare in WA — it is an advisory body.

“We urge Tony Seabrook and John Hassell to stop the fearmongering about animal welfare and instead work with us to support the future of the livestock industry.”

The committee was a recommendation of the independent Animal Welfare Act Review 2020.

It also includes veterinarian Susan Glyde, who is described as having a “background in teaching veterinary science and medicine”; Native ARC manager Dean Huxley, who has a “background in native animal rehabilitation”; and WA Meat Industry Authority board member Joanna Williams.