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24 August 2011

Australian taxpayers have contributed over $2 million in a restraint device for cattle in Indonesia that has now been officially condemned by Australia’s chief vet as being inhumane.

The Chief Vet’s Report into the Mark 1 Box is damning in confirming the device breaches international animal welfare guidelines.

This is an unambiguous validation of the RSPCA assessment of the suffering associated with this cruel device. It’s a shame it took nearly three months for the government to reach the same conclusion – that this box exposes animals to unnecessary and prolonged suffering.

MLA and LiveCorp knew in 2009 that the Mark 1 box contravened OIE guidelines yet they continued to install them as late as 2010. The report shows that the live export industry’s culpability and complicity in entrenching animal cruelty in Indonesia is undeniable.

While it isn’t surprising that the live export industry commissioned and installed these boxes, the fact that $2 million of taxpayers’ money – people who do care about animal welfare – has been invested in animal cruelty in Indonesia is unforgivable.

MLA can’t let this be their terrible legacy in Indonesia. They have a responsibility to right this wrong. The RSPCA is calling on the industry to invest whatever money is necessary to refit those boxes to ensure they are only used for more humane methods of slaughter which includes stunning.

 

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