RSPCA says it will work with WA sheep industry to improve animal welfare standards after live sheep export ban

RSPCA Australia says it will work with the sheep industry to improve animal welfare standards “at all stages of the supply chain” as industry predicts the need for far more feedlotting and interstate trucking in the absence of live sheep exports by sea. It comes after Australian Veterinary Association head of policy and advocacy Melanie Latter laid out the welfare issues to consider if a live export ban did go ahead during a public hearing into the live export ban Bill. She said there would need to be more trained veterinarians in WA if feedlotting was to expand, and called on the Government to provide financial support to help train up local vets in WA to meet demand. Dr Latter also mentioned west to east trucking of sheep, which “should be avoided as far as possible”. “Should this (long distance trucking) be necessary, it’s important that measures are put in place to ensure animal welfare and that it’s only seen as a temporary measure,” she said. Like the RSPCA, the AVA supports farm animals being slaughtered “as close as possible” to the point of production to minimise stress. “We will of course work with the sheep industry to improve animal welfare at all stages of the supply chain, including during transport and in feedlots,” a RSPCA Australia spokesperson said. The comments came after X (formerly Twitter) users expressed confusion and concern when the official RSPCA Australia X account liked a comment that sarcastically alluded to livestock trucking getting banned in Australia. A RSPCA spokesperson said it was “accidental” and the tweet was unliked “as soon as we realised”. “Needless to say, we don’t have a policy to advocate for a ban of all livestock transport,” the spokesperson said. “Live sheep export, however, has a much greater cumulative welfare effect on sheep than long-haul road transport.”