Vegan singer Morrissey latest entertainer to attack Barnaby Joyce

THE vegan singer Morrissey, who rose to fame in the eighties, has written to Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce urging an end to live animal exports.

Morrissey has written to Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce about the export of live animals. Picture: Ilya S. Savenok / Getty

SINGER Morrissey, famous in the eighties as the singer of the English band The Smiths, has taken aim at Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce in a strongly worded letter calling for an end to live animal exports.

The famously vegan singer has been vocal in his pursuit of animal rights for a long time, having released an album called Meat is Murder, while with The Smiths in 1985. While touring Australia he also insists that each venue takes meat off the menu when he performs there.

In the personally-penned letter to Mr Joyce on behalf of animal rights group PETA, Morrissey says the minister is behind the times in the area of animal-welfare.

“The horrific cruelty in the live-export industry is heavy enough to sink a ship, yet you insist on condemning millions of animals to this fate every year. You can deny it until you are red(der) in the face, but the industry is dying,” Morrissey wrote.

“Live exporter Elders is shutting down its long haul trade, and exports of both cattle and sheep are slipping.”

Morrissey on stage at Festival Hall, Melbourne, on October 23. Picture: Rob Leeson

There have been calls to ban Australia’s live exports on the grounds of cruelty but Mr Joyce has rejected these despite reports showing the mistreatment of Australian cattle overseas.

Mightn’t be a big fan of The Smiths, but I am a great fan of families in WA, NT & FNQ who rely on our $2bn live export industry.

— Barnaby Joyce (@Barnaby_Joyce) October 31, 2016

Record cattle prices for families in regional Australia - sorry I don’t cut it at Splendour in the Grass, but I accept that.

— Barnaby Joyce (@Barnaby_Joyce) October 31, 2016

“Your recent dismissal of the need for an animal-welfare office in your department shows that you are currently on the wrong side of history.

“If meat is murder, live export is the slow boat to hell,” Morrissey wrote.

The singer finished off the letter asking Mr Joyce to help pave the way towards a kinder future by “putting the live-export industry out of its misery immediately”.

He signed off: “Yours sincerely, Morrissey.”

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce seems to rankle visiting entertainers. Picture: Bohdan Warchomij

In 2014 Australia’s export of live beef cattle for feeder, slaughter and breeding purposes totalled 1,294,036 head and were valued at $1.294 billion FOB, LiveCorp states.

Indonesia was the largest market taking 730,257 head which accounted for 56 per cent of the total of Australia’s cattle exports (including dairy cattle).

Morrissey is on a national tour.