Exporters will now have to guarantee the welfare of all livestock that leave Australia for slaughter - not just cattle to Indonesia - under new rules set down by the federal government.
Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig on Friday said the changes will ensure all cattle, sheep and goats exported overseas will be treated according to international welfare standards, from within Australia to the point of slaughter.
Animals will need to be able to be tracked at any point, and each supply chain - to be put in place and guaranteed by individual export companies - will be independently audited.
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It's the same system that was implemented for the live exports industry to Indonesia in July following a furore over the treatment of cattle sent there.
Senator Ludwig shut down that market for a month while he figured out the new system.
He said on Friday that introducing supply chain assurances across the board - not just Indonesia - will provide stability and certainty for Australia's $1 billion live export industry as well as protect jobs.
"Importantly, if animal welfare issues do arise in overseas markets in the future, the government will have the ability to address these issues without closing entire markets," he said in a statement.
CHANGES RESULT OF FARMER REVIEW
The new changes are a key recommendation of the Farmer review, which was released on Friday.
Headed by former senior diplomat Bill Farmer, the review was instigated after graphic footage of cattle being abused in Indonesian abattoirs was shown on television.
The government has accepted all 14 recommendations either fully or in-principle, including a promise to have the new supply chain assurance system in place by the end of 2012.
Senator Ludwig estimates 75 per cent of the trade will be covered by March - that includes markets in Indonesia, Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Turkey - jumping to 99 per cent by the end of August.
He's also supported the idea of a formal stocktake of the system in 2014, and agreed to think further about whether to include breeder livestock under the new rules.
Senator Ludwig also agreed to set out the principles on which its live export rules are based.
They are:
- to meet or better World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) standards
- to enable effective tracing of animals
- to have appropriate reporting and accountability
- to have the system independently audited.
Although stunning is not a requirement of OIE standards, the government said it will encourage its use.
It's throwing $10 million into improving welfare standards overseas, as well as $5 million to help exporters with the new regime.
The government has also promised to work with the states and territories to clarify their roles and responsibilities when it comes to regulation.
In 2010/11, Australia exported 728,000 cattle in total (456,000 to Indonesia) and 2.9 million sheep.
FARM LOBBY WELCOMES OVERHAUL
The farm lobby has welcomed an overhaul of animal welfare standards for the live cattle trade, saying new animal welfare arrangements for the Australian live export trade take a balanced approach.
National Farmers Federation president Jock Laurie said his members wanted to ensure animal welfare was a priority.
"They have been very willing to work at addressing market issues to ensure this trade can continue into the future at a standard that is acceptable to the Australian community," he told reporters in Canberra.
There had been "intense political lobbying" in recent months and the government had done well to find a "good balanced approach".
Mr Farmer told reporters that in his visits to abattoirs in Asia and the Middle East he had seen stunning done well and stunning that "fell far short" of global standards.
"Stunning applied incorrectly is not a humane practice," he said.
There was evidence Indonesian abattoirs were making greater use of stunning.
The number of plants adopting the practice had risen from about four in June to 30 in August, Mr Farmer said.
"So industry is taking its own decisions about stunning - that will apply in different ways in different countries," he said.
"I think in a number of countries in the Middle East it's a much more complicated issue."
About 100,000 cattle had gone into the Indonesian market since the suspension was lifted and the industry had a "sustainable future".
