Even more alarming than the evidence of continued suffering on board these ships, are the pages and pages of redacted information, consistently where management of animals and heat stress on board are discussed.
ALEXIS CAREY: ‘The RSPCA has released shocking pictures of dead and dying animals taken on live export ships last year which the Government tried to suppress for nearly six months. The animal rights organisation was forced to shell out “close to $1700 in processing fees” after requesting the images, which were included in government observer reports from ships that left Australia in April to June 2018. The RSPCA finally won “partial access” to the report and photographs after a lengthy Freedom of Information fight. According to the organisation, the “heavily redacted” documents contain information about eight different journeys which took place between two and four weeks, totalling 184 days at sea.
The reports were written after 2500 hours of observation and include 83 photos of animals, including sick, dead and dying sheep. Hundreds of additional images and hours of footage have not been released. RSPCA Australia senior policy officer Dr Jed Goodfellow said the documents and images proved the conditions on board the notorious Awassi Express in 2017 “weren’t the exception but the norm”. He was referring to the disastrous voyages made by the vessel that year, which led to the deaths of 2400 sheep due to heat stress, outraging countless Australians.
“The conditions described and photographed in these documents represent the industry on its very best behaviour after the multiple disastrous journeys of the Awassi in 2017,” Dr Goodfellow said. “And yet, once again, we see conditions that would absolutely horrify the average Australian and the average sheep farmer. “Perhaps even more alarming than the evidence of continued suffering on board these ships, are the pages and pages of redacted information, consistently where management of animals and heat stress on board are discussed.” Dr Goodfellow said the department had “flat out refused” to release the video taken on board the ships, which he claimed was “the only real means of truly appreciating the animals’ behaviour and condition during the high heat stress periods”.’ SOURCE…
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