ABC sheep program fuels export ban calls

HORRIFIED reactions to an ABC TV report on the brutal slaughter of Australian sheep in Pakistan have prompted the Greens, veterinarians and animal rights groups to renew calls to ban live exports.

The Four Corners report entitled Another Bloody Business, aired on Monday, has prompted the Australian Greens to step up their campaign calling for an end to the trade, with the party's leader Christine Milne starting a petition overnight.

Former Greens leader Bob Brown urged both sides of politics to back the Live Animal Export (Slaughter) Prohibition Bill 2012, introduced by Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, but conceded it appeared destined to fail in the Senate.

"Both Labor and the coalition have indicated that they will oppose this legislation to bring this cruel trade to a halt," Dr Brown told reporters in Perth on Tuesday.

"It's the Greens who are standing up against it, and we'll continue to do so.

"People need to get behind that."

Mr Brown dismissed as "bunkum" claims by federal Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig and the Australian Livestock Exporters' Council that the cull was an isolated incident.

The big parties were again defending disgusting treatment of Australian livestock overseas, he said.

"And it's very clear the big parties are not going to stop it because they are under the pressure of money - better than ethics - when it comes to this trade," Mr Brown told reporters in Perth.

"It's got to stop. Time's up."

However, pastoralists argued that a ban would not prevent cruelty to animals as importers would simply look to other suppliers with inferior slaughtering practices.

NT Country Liberal Party senator Nigel Scullion said Australia had an opportunity to influence slaughtering practices in places like Indonesia and therefore prevent more animals dying cruel deaths.

Meanwhile, the owner of the company that exported the sheep to Bahrain, then Pakistan - Fremantle-based Wellard - said one incident shouldn't bring down the live export trade.

"There are laws and regulations in place that are meant to deal with situations like this, and we are fully confident they would be applied correctly, so an accident should not shut out an industry," Mario Balzarini told ABC radio on Tuesday.

WAFarmers president Dale Park said the industry had voluntarily committed to not send Australian sheep to countries that did not want to take them.

However, the ABC program claimed Elders planned to send about 2000 breeding cows to Pakistan.

Mr Park rejected assertions from Animals Australia and Vets Against Live Export (VALE) that the federal government's Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System - brought in after the Indonesian abattoir scandal last year - was not working.

He said there had been a substantial improvement in animal welfare across Australia's export markets.

"Australia is the only country that actively works in overseas markets to help improve animal welfare conditions, so our departure from live export will see a decline in global animal welfare standards," Mr Park said.

"WA agriculture relies on live export and WAFarmers will be doing everything possible to ensure the future of industry is strong and the high animal welfare standards currently in place are maintained."

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