Don't Send Your Sheep To Cruelty - Appeal To Farmers 1

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28th October 2008, 05:44pm - Views: 860





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Media release   









  28th October 2008


Appeal to farmers – Don’t send your sheep to cruelty


Animals Australia is publishing full-page ‘open letter’ advertisements in the major rural newspapers

this week appealing to sheep farmers not to send their animals to the Middle East for the upcoming Eid

‘Festival of Sacrifice’ to be held between the 8th and 10th of December.


Animals Australia investigators have been in the Middle East during the past three ‘Festivals of Sacrifice’.

The ‘open letter’ alerts farmers to the additional cruelties faced by animals during this Festival when Muslims

throughout the Middle East purchase sheep for sacrifice.   Footage obtained in Egypt of Australian sheep sales

in the lead up to the Eid has prevented further sheep exports into Egypt last year.  Similar abuse of animals

was documented in Bahrain and Dubai and yet animals are still being sources for these destinations.   


Animals Australia Executive Director, Glenys Oogjes said today:

“The Festival of Sacrifice is the worst time of the year in the Middle East for animals.    Our live exporters know

it – yet they don’t warn farmers, they deliberately keep the truth from them because they know that most

farmers would refuse to send their animals to such a fate.”


“I know that times are tough for farmers especially with the ongoing drought.    But Animals Australia believes

that if animals were being abused like this at a local stockyard that regardless of any extra money on offer,

farmers would be outraged and refuse to supply their animals to such treatment.”


“LiveCorp’s PR mantra “we are changing things” is a highly convenient response when the eyes of the farming

community are 10,000 away. Animals Australia investigators documented workers dragging, trussing and

tossing animals onto trucks and shoving animals into car boots at the Bahrain Livestock Feedlot at last years

Eid, despite MLA/LiveCorp conducting training courses at this facility.”


“There is now overwhelming evidence to prove that Australia supplying live animals to the Middle East has led

local people to believe that their current treatment of animals is acceptable and that change is not needed”.


“We are appealing to farmers to reconsider exporting their animals not only to protect their animals from abuse,

but so that the right message is conveyed to the region – that animals and their welfare do matter to Australian

farmers and they don’t approve of their livestock being treated this way” concluded Ms Oogjes.




Media contact:   

Glenys Oogjes 041 431 2552



   

Video footage and hi res photos available






 

         Animals Australia Office    03 9329 6333


Animals Australia Inc.   37 O’Connell Street,  North Melbourne 3051







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