Live sheep export panel meeting draws emotional responses

The meetings kicked off in Moora and York on Monday, followed by meetings in Narrogin and Wagin on Tuesday, Katanning and Cranbook on Wednesday and one in Albany today, Thursday, April 20.

Here are some of the comments from those who will be affected if the Australian Government is successful in phasing out the live sheep trade in its next term of government. Reporting by Brooke Littlewood and Tamara Hooper.

WENDY DYMOND, Avon Valley mixed cropping and sheep farmer

WENDY Dymond raised several important points, which were well-received and supported by other farmers.

Livestock are a critical part of Ms Dymond's business, offering a source of income in drier years and on country which is not suitable for cropping.

She said in many cases farmers had been running their businesses - and breeding heritage sheep - for many generations.

"While not directly applicable to us, we purchase from those who have bred sheep for many generations and want to protect the affect this would have on their business and mental health," Ms Dymond said.

"We saw what happened to these farmers in the United Kingdom when generation stock was destroyed during the foot and mouth disease outbreak."

Beyond that, Ms Dymond put it simply - she loves sheep.

She said the important part sheep play in producers' lives should not be under-estimated.

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"Just like some people love their dogs and cats, we love our livestock and that's our mental health as well," she said.

"We love them and we look after them and I think that has been challenged, which is not fair because it has been challenged by people that don't understand."

"People are making decisions on our properties and about the way we do things, who are very removed from our businesses.

"It would be a bit like me walking into (a major retailer) and telling them how to design clothes," she said.

"I don't know what a shopkeeper does and I don't think I have any right to do that, so I am struggling (to understand) how someone can tell us what we can do on our properties and how we can run our businesses."

Ms Dymond said there would be a flow-on effect - should the phase-out go ahead - right through regional communities and into the city.

She encouraged people to think seriously about why the change was being made and who was pushing for it.

"What we fail to understand is that we are operating an important business providing food and fibre to people in Australia and around the world.

"It is a legal business - which looks after animals in a loving and humane way - with increasing restrictions being applied by people who are often very removed from - and don't understand - our business.

"Please learn more about what we do and how we do it before making these decisions."

PETER BOYLE, York sheep producer

PETER Boyle supplies thousands of sheep to the live export trade each year.

At the panel meeting, Mr Boyle said Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt's suggestion of increased onshore processing - or building another abattoir - was only part of the story.

He said Fremantle was not the preferred port for containers.

"Is there a solution to making Fremantle a more attractive place for exporting chilled meat out of?

"If there isn't, we don't have Buckley's at succeeding if we have extra abattoirs."

Mr Boyle said, as an example, the WA Meat Marketing Co-operative had been forced to send freezer trucks over east to be put onto boats.

"You're going to increase the traffic across the Nullarbor with trucks carting chilled meat over?'' he said.

"It doesn't sound very practical to me and I don't think Mr Watt understands the entire industry.

"I don't know how that's going to happen to get them out of Fremantle."

Even if another abattoir was to be built - or the workforce was increased at existing abattoirs - Mr Boyle said more housing would be needed in the regions.

Not only that, but he said more overseas staff would need to be employed.

"Mr Watt said it was going to create Australian jobs, they're only going to be Australian jobs if they're new Australians, because nobody here will do it.

"We can't get staff for the love of money at the moment."

PETER WILKINSON, Challara stud principal

PETER Wilkinson attended the panel meeting at Moora and said there were plenty of farmers, who felt like they had not been consulted well enough.

Mr Wilkinson said it was concerning that - even though there had been no consultation with industry about phasing out live exports - the government was going to do it anyway.

He said that was despite the fact Australia had provided the highest sheep live export standards in the world.

"Even though these high standards have been met, now the Federal government intends taking high animal standards away," Mr Wilkinson said.

"This will be replaced with lower standards by other nations potentially without a vet on the ship.

"This is why it is about more than animal welfare concerns, but a greater agenda to stop people from farming animals.

"Ironic because the greatest source of protein comes from sheep meat, which the world needs in bucket loads."

Mr Wilkinson said rural people would not give up without standing firm for the future of WA's sheep industry.

TONY SEABROOK, Pastoralists and Graziers' Association of WA (PGA) president

AFTER all the information from the meeting had been assessed, PGA president Tony Seabrook said the industry still needed to deal with Labor's policy to shut down the live sheep trade.

"I am quite certain in the lead-up to the next election, we need - as an industry - to go to the Labor Party and tell them the things we have been saying today," Mr Seabrook said.

"This is the wrong decision, change the policy."

Mr Seabrook said it was important everyone came together and supported grower groups, WAFarmers and the PGA.

"If you want proper representation, get behind those who get themselves in the face of people that can change the policy," he said.

"Don't take your anger and frustration out on the panel, they're here to do a report for the minister.

"Give us the power to go to Canberra and give these people a really hard time.

"It can be done, we can change the policy, but we need to recognise it can't be done for free."

STEVE BOLT, The Livestock Collective (TLC) director and Corrigin stud breeder

TLC director and Corrigin stud breeder Steve Bolt said the lack of notice and details on the public panel meetings was a complete failure on behalf of the Federal department.

Mr Bolt said community confidence had been undermined by the government seemingly trying to restrict growers' ability to be involved in the process.

Despite this, Moora and York drew large crowds of almost 100 people on Monday and numbers were expected to continue growing at other meetings this week.

"There are going to be a lot of unhappy people at these meetings because of the way this consultation has been conducted - and rightly so," Mr Bolt said

He said constructive work had been done by the farmer grower and lobby groups and other organisations - and it was time for those who would be severely affected to speak out.

"We don't want a sanitised version of this, the panel needs to hear the raw emotion that comes from people on the ground," he said.

"That includes what's at stake for their businesses, livelihoods and communities.

"It is so important these issues are reinforced and raised again."

MARK HARVEY-SUTTON, Australian Livestock Exports' Council chief executive officer

MARK Harvey-Sutton said the directive of the consultation was to ensure it was orderly and inclusive.

Mr Harvey-Sutton said the way the meetings had been organised sent the complete opposite message and showed there was a huge disconnect from the realities of regional WA, the policy's impact and the people affected.

"On the one hand, the chair of the panel (Phillip Glyde) said there wasn't enough time to get across all the issues.

"But then - either the panel themselves or the Federal Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry - has not created the environment for everyone to contribute to the process.

"I think it is contemptuous and very disappointing.

"Thank goodness word of mouth continues to work more effectively than government departments and that large numbers are expected at the meetings."

IAIN NICHOLSON, New Norcia sheep producer and stud breeder

IAIN Nicholson said he had spoken to meat marketers overseas and the message he received was that the overseas chilled market was full.

"I have also spoken to the people I sell sheep to and one abattoir, in particular, and there isn't enough storage, because they can't offload meat when they need to and they will run out of storage quickly," Mr Nicholson said.

"I have also spoken to clients I sell rams to and they have said they are going to get out of sheep, I have heard that from quite a few people."

He said it would create a snowball affect with the industry unable to sell off its surplus.

"We have a viable and legal system, it is compliant with ESCAS and we have viable overseas markets," Mr Nicholson said.

"We have a world leading standard and we have other countries complying to our regulations.

"I am old enough to remember the early 1990s and the impact of the collapse of the wool industry that saw farmers having to shoot their sheep.

"The impacts of having to cull the oversupply of sheep would be devastating on farmers, not just the financial costs but the mental costs."

Mr Nicholson said the reality of the live sheep trade being stopped would create a bigger animal welfare issue that would also lead to an even bigger mental health/human welfare issue.

ALAN SATTLER, Beverley grain producer

ALAN Sattler doesn't have livestock and he is concerned for farmers who will get out of sheep and switch to cropping.

"This will flood the grain market and bring grain prices down and have flow-on effects of farming not being viable," Mr Sattler said.

"There won't be enough infrastructure in terms of transport and storage of grain and, with prices dropping, will it be worth it?

"This will cause people to leave farming, causing closures of regional schools, healthcare and other support industries, such as mechanics.

"It is just a ridiculous policy, that will decimate agriculture in WA."

Mr Sattler recalled helping his father shoot sheep from their flock in 1991, because the collapse of the wool market saw prices drop to such a degree that sheep were worth 10 cents a head, but it was costing 50-60c a head to truck them to the Midland Saleyards.

He said this policy could very well lead to the same outcome and he said the effect of having to shoot sheep they had bred and raised was devastating, the kind of experience that affects you mentally for life, a soul-crushing experience.

He wants the government to realise that implementing a ban would be far worse for animal welfare - but the bigger cost would be to human lives and asked if they were prepared to take the blame for that.

OTHER KEY POINTS RAISED

The exporters have been compliant to every new and updated regulation from ESCAS to the Moratorium on the trade over the summer months.

There had been thousands invested in infrastructure on-farms in the form of new shearing sheds also.

There was a unanimous show of hands from attendees in support of the industry.

There was nearly a unanimous show of hands from those present who had still had sheep on-farm that were awaiting space at the abattoirs.

Mr Glyde urged producers to not give up and to keep telling their stories and push for change to this policy - in agreeance with Tony Seabrook's comments.

Farm Weekly had been asked on several occasions if we had evidence of the wording of the election promise that had prompted the policy to phase out live export of sheep by sea.

We asked the question at the York meeting - other than being told live export by air will be fine - Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry assistant director traceability, plant and live animal exports division, SES regional support officer, Sunraysia (Victoria) and Riverland (South Australia) Phoebe Klinkert said that the promise had been taken down off the website, for what reason and by whom she did not know, but she said she would send the wording to Farm Weekly via email.

A response had not yet been received when Farm Weekly went to press on Tuesday afternoon.