Stop Live Exports was founded in the mid-1900s. Its original name was People Against Cruelty in Animal Transport (PACAT). The name was changed in 2008 to Stop Live Exports and the organization decided to focus on ending live animal exports (StopLiveExports.Org, 2018). However, the organization also gets involved in other animal welfare and transportation issues. Its activities are anchored on several Australian Acts and policies related to animal welfare.
Currently, Australia exports about 3 million live animals for slaughter every year. Most of these animals are cattle and sheep while others are goats, buffalo, camels and deer. These animals are usually exported in very inhumane conditions and the manner in which they are slaughtered is also brutal. It is estimated that the throats of about 60% of the exported live animals get cut when they are still conscious and most of them are subjected to treatment and handling that is illegal in Australia. This kind of treatment and handling of animals is cruel and must be condemned and stopped. The exportation of these live animals is generating revenue for the government and creating millions of direct and direct jobs for people. Therefore it is important to advocate for proper handling and treatment of animals especially during shipment and when they are being slaughtered. The main goal of Stop Lives Exports is to stop animal cruel and suffering especially those that are exported for slaughter.
In Australia, state and territory governments have been given the mandate to formulate and implement policies aimed at protecting the welfare of animals. The roles and responsibilities of animal welfare are given to individual animal owners, animal industry groups, community animal welfare groups, and government agencies (Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, 2016). However, there are many incidents of live animals being treated and handled with cruelty in Australia.
There are several Australian laws governing the cruel handling and treatment of animals when they are being imported or exported. Some of these laws in different states include: Animal Welfare Act 1992 (ACT), Animal Care and Protection Act 2001 (QLD), Animal Welfare Act 1993 (TAS), Animal Welfare Act 1999 (NT), Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 (VIC), Animal Welfare Act 2002 (WA), Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW) and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1985 (SA), among others (Anon., 2018). The main objective of these anti-cruelty Acts is to prevent cruelty to live animals (Law Society of New South Wales, 2010). The Acts prohibit infliction of avoidable pain on live animals or failure to put in place appropriate measures to prevent animals from experiencing pain (Sharman, 2004).
The debate on whether live animal export in Australia can be abolished is never tending. This is mainly because the trade has been termed as inhuman based on the manner in which these animals are handled and treated during shipment and the time they are slaughtered (Murray, 2018). This trade has been ongoing for many years now but it seems not to end nor change. There are many reported cases where animals have been mistreated and mishandled. In 2013, there was a media campaign by different organizations including Australian Broadcasting Commission, Prevention for Cruelty to Animals and Animals Australia that exposed live animal export cruelties that are happening in Australia. The story dubbed “A Bloody Business” was aired by Four Corners, a top investigative programme in the country, and thousands of people who viewed the television story were greatly horrified and angered by the manner in which animals exported from Australian were being abused in Indonesian abattoirs (Munro, 2015). This, with other stories and incidents, have prompted many campaigns aimed at banning live animal export from Australia (Coghlan, 2014). The awareness has also made many Australians to have negative attitude towards exportation of live animals (Sinclair, et al., 2018). It is also important to note that there are different forms of animal cruelty including: gross neglect, simple neglect, animal hoarding, intentional abuse, animal sexual assault, ritualistic abuse and organized abuse (Mogbo, et al., 2013).
Today, Animals Australia is running a campaign aimed at making consumers aware of animal welfare, including cruel treatment and handling during shipment (Rodan & Mummery, 2016). They believe that when consumers become aware of this cruelty, their purchase behaviour will change and are likely to resist buying from traders or abattoirs that are reported to be mistreating and mishandling animals (ABC News, 2011). Animals are voiceless and the only way that their welfare can be championed is through human activism. Social media has also become a very crucial medium of communication that is being used by animal activist organizations to reach many people, including those in the livestock production industries. However, some participants in livestock production industries have opposed the activism referring to them as ignorant. Several studies have shown that sharing animal welfare activism messages on social media has minimal impact on perceptions of meat eaters (Buddle, et al., 2018).
Therefore there are many activities ongoing in relation to animal welfare protection in Australia. Government agencies, private organizations, individuals and activist organizations. If these campaigns succeed, the number of live animals exported from Australia could reduce drastically (Wahlquist, 2018). However, this may create new opportunities in meat production industry as these animals will not start being slaughtered and processed in Australia then exposed to other countries as canned or packed meat. This will create more jobs for Australian residents and also generate more revenue.
A power-holder map is a very essential tool in advocating for social change. The power map identifies the people that a group has to influence so as to establish the right techniques for influencing them, and the people that should steer or lead the influence so as to achieve a specific goal. Coordination of Stop Live Exports activities is done by Katrina Love, who is a part-time campaign manager, with the help of a volunteer committee that is responsible for overseeing the organization’s strategic direction. The general power-holder map of Stop Live Exports is provided in Figure 1 below. The map comprises of different members of the organization. The power-holder map is not organized in any hierarchical order because all the groups play very critical roles towards achieving the goals of the organization.
Figure 1: Stop Live Exports power-holder map
She is the overall leader of the organization. Her main role is to provide leadership on where the organization is heading, how to mobilize, allocate and utilize resources appropriately, facilitate organization’s engagement with government agencies and keep the volunteer team focused towards the organization’s goals.
This mainly includes federal, state and territory government agencies that are involved with protection of animal welfare. Stop Live Exports consults these agencies so as to raise their concerns for consideration when formulating policies related to animal export trade.
This is the committee responsible for overseeing the organization’s strategic direction. The committee comprises of selfless, dedicated and committed men, women and youths from all walks of life who are relentless is seeing live animal export trade stopped.
The organization also works closely with other animal welfare activists that support the campaign of stopping live animal export trade.
These people give real accounts of their experience with handling and treatment of live animals during shipment. They help the organization have a better understanding of what really happens to the animals, what the exporters ignore, if any of the incidents get reported, and actions taken if any of cruel incidents is reported to relevant agencies. Some of the former meat workers are those who lost their jobs due to different reasons, including showing concern for animal cruelty.
There are many farmers who are concerned about how their animals are treated and handled after they have sold them. These organization partner with these farmers so that they can voice their concerns about their dissatisfaction with how their animals are treated especially after they spent years giving them good care.
Most of the community leaders are supporting the idea of animals being slaughtered in Australia and exported as chilled or canned meat. This will create more jobs for local residents and also boost the economy. The organization partners with these community leaders so as to educate local residents and urge them to support the campaign of stopping live animal export trade.
These are ordinary people that are concerned about the welfare of animals. Their number has grown significantly because of increased campaigns and awareness about fighting against cruelty of live animals during shipment.
Most of the resources that the organization uses for its activities are sourced from donors. The organization requests people to donate on their website in support for their activities. The donors are a very important group for the organization.
Stop Live Exports uses a wide range of methods and cannels to communicate with all groups in its power-holder map shown in Figure 1 above. These include: workshops, seminars, meetings, radio, television, brochures, roadshows, magazines, newspapers, articles, blogs, social media and their website.
The goals of Stop Export Lives and the various strategies of achieving them are summarized in the integrated strategy map is given in Figure 2 below:
Figure 2: Stop Live Exports integrated strategy map
This being a campaign, the organization plans to implement the strategies outlined in Figure 2 above by creating more awareness about live animal export cruelty. This will help in helping people and relevant agencies know the facts and probably support their campaign and bring the trade to an end. Some of the campaign calendars of the organization are provided below
The organization arranges for a series of events throughout the year. These events are usually aimed at creating awareness about the cruelty in the live animal export trade and how people can support the campaign. Some of the campaign dates are as follows:
It is a decade now since Stop Live Exports was established and the organization is still on its course of seeing animal cruelty in Australia brought to an end. According to Stop Live Exports, the best way to win this war is by increasing awareness across the divide including government agencies, livestock production industries and the general public. This way, people will understand how animals are being treated and handled during exportation and make an informed decision on whether to support the trade or not. The attitudes of the community towards animal welfare have a big impact on the policies that governments formulate towards protecting the welfare of animals (Coleman, 2018). There are many stories and campaigns showing high level of mishandling and mistreatment of animals exported from Australia. The livestock production industries have also noticed the changing community values and perception towards animal welfare and therefore they have to take necessary actions so as to protect their licenses and maintain their markets. Australian livestock are on very high demand worldwide mainly because Australia is among the countries that produce high quality animals that are free from foot-and-mouth diseases. The livestock exporters are issued with licenses and permits of doing this trade after meeting the requirements set by the Export Control (Animals) Order 2004, Australian Meat and Livestock Industry Act 1997 and Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (Coombs, 2013). There may be need to review these requirements and also improve implementation systems.
The campaign by Stop Live Exports and other organizations have produced some positive outcomes so far. There are more people donating towards the campaign, showing up for the organization’s protests and sharing messages of support. More bills aimed at protecting the welfare of animals during exportation are now in parliament and several policies have already been formulated to protect livestock. The organization is hopeful of more positive outcome with the ultimate being the stop of live export trade in Australia.
References
ABC News, 2011. Farmers, activists face off in live export rally. [Online]
Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-06-18/farmers-activists-face-off-in-live-export-rally/2763054
[Accessed 2 October 2018].
Anon., 2018. Animal Welfare Legislation. [Online]
Available at: https://www.animalhealthaustralia.com.au/what-we-do/livestock-welfare/animal-welfare-legislation/
[Accessed 2 October 2018].
Buddle, E., Bray, H. & Ankeny, R., 2018. Why would we believe them? Meat consumers’ reactions to online farm animal welfare activism in Australia. Communication Research and Practice, 4(3), pp. 246-260.
Coghlan, S., 2014. Australia and Live Animal Export: Wronging Nonhuman Animals. Journal of Animal Ethics, 4(2), pp. 45-60.
Coleman, G., 2018. Public animal welfare discussions and outlooks in Australia. Animal Frontiers, 8(1), pp. 14-19.
Coombs, M., 2013. Live Animal Exports. [Online]
Available at: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook44p/AnimalExports
[Accessed October 2018].
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, 2016. Animal Welfare in Australia. [Online]
Available at: https://www.agriculture.gov.au/animal/welfare/animal-welfare-in-australia#legislation
[Accessed 2 October 2018].
Law Society of New South Wales, 2010. Animal Law Guide New South Wales, Sydney: New South Wales Young Lawyers.
Mogbo, T.C; Oduah, F.N; Okeke, J.J; Ufele, A.N & Nwankwo, O.D., 2013. Animal Cruelty: A Review. Journal of Natural Sciences Research, 3(8), pp. 94-98.
Munro, L., 2015. The Live Animal Export Controversy in Australia: A Moral Crusade Made for the Mass Media. Social Movement Studies, 14(2), pp. 214-229.
Murray, P., 2018. Live export is a cruel trade that never changes. [Online]
Available at: https://thewest.com.au/opinion/paul-murray/live-export-is-a-cruel-trade-that-never-changes-ng-b88805756z
[Accessed 14 April 2018].
Rodan, D. & Mummery, J., 2016. Doing animal welfare activism everyday: questions of identity. Journal of Media & Culture Studies, 30(4), pp. 381-396.
Sharman, K., 2004. Animal Law in Australia. [Online]
Available at: https://www.animallaw.info/article/animal-law-australia
[Accessed 2 October 2018].
Sinclair, M., Derkley, T., Fryer, C. & Phillips, C., 2018. Australian Public Opinions Regarding the Live Export Trade before and after an Animal Welfare Media Exposé. Animals, 8(7), pp. 106-116.
StopLiveExports.Org, 2018. About Stop Live Exports. [Online]
Available at: https://www.stopliveexports.org/stop-live-exports
[Accessed 2 October 2018].
Wahlquist, C., 2018. Live exports could be dramatically reduced if animal cruelty case succeeds. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/apr/16/live-exports-could-be-dramatically-reduced-if-animal-cruelty-case-succeeds [Accessed 2 October 2018].
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