Australia to protest live export ahead of Islamic slaughter

SYDNEY: With hundreds of thousands of animals expected to be slaughtered across the Islamic world later this month, and many of the cows and sheep coming from Australia in live export vessels, Australian activists are to take to the streets across the country to protest the government’s continued approval of the controversial practices.

Spearheaded by Animals Australia, the protests will be held in the cities of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and Hobart.

"If you care about animals and want to see them protected from cruelty, then please join us this Saturday as we rally side-by-side, right across the country, for an end to live export,” said Animals Australia in a press release announcing the protest to its followers.

It also comes on the heels of a report that live export sheep were clubbed to death and buried alive in Pakistan last month in what activists say was a "shocking incident.”

"These are the latest tragic results of a live export industry that sends animals to be killed in countries where there are no laws to protect them from cruelty,” said Animals Australia in a press statement.

"No politician can defend a trade that comes with the risk of animals being clubbed, stabbed, or buried alive. Enough is enough. Today, don’t let your MP off the hook,” the animal rights group added.

In revealing the terrible tragedy, Animals Australia urged Australian citizens to call on their representatives to push for an end to the live export trade.

Pakistani officials confirmed to Bikymasr.com on that they would go forward with the killing of more than 21,000 sheep despite Australian government assurances that the animals were safe to be slaughtered for food.

Australian diplomats have repeatedly urged Pakistan to stop the killings, saying the animals are not infected with disease.

Pakistan ordered the cull after the ship carrying the sheep had been turned away by the Bahraini government and tested positive for salmonella and actinomyces.

Australia’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Peter Heyward said he was "surprised and concerned” about the killings, as he argued the animals met the south Asian country’s health requirements for imported sheep and they posed "no human or animal health risks.”

Salmonella and actinomyces, he argued, "are part of normal gut flora and are present in livestock throughout the world, and in this form pose no threat to human health.”

In Pakistan, Karachi’s top administrator Roshan Shaikh told reporters that the sheep killings would continue.

"There is no suspension in the process, as the bacterial presence in the animal is confirmed and we can’t put human life in danger in Pakistan,” he said.

It comes after Egyptian officials refused to allow a shipment of young cows into the country last month from Brazil after officials in Cairo said the animals were infected with unknown hormones.

Over 32,000 cows were slaughtered as a result after being forced to remain at port for weeks, causing mass deaths on board the ships.

The stranded cows had made international headlines after Bikyamasr.com first reported their situation on September 1, including a Care2.com petition that was signed by over 25,000 people globally urging the Egyptian government to free the baby cows from their horrific conditions. (continue reading...)