Live export lobbyists ramp up WA campaign as federal election nears

The welfare of sheep is shaping as a key electoral issue in Western Australia, with supporters of live sheep export vowing to increase both the trade and their campaigning against Labor in key seats leading up to the next federal election.

The Australian Live Export Council says it will expand overseas markets in advance of the proposed 2028 ban on live sheep exports that the Labor government intends to enforce if returned to power.

Supporters of live export are planning a lobbying blitz in WA as the practise crystallises as a key election issue.Credit: Bloomberg

Chief executive Mark Harvey-Sutton says the west African nation of Morocco has asked to import live sheep to increase its flocks after years of disastrous drought.

A Moroccan delegation is planned to arrive in Perth in February to discuss export proposals. Harvey-Sutton, who has just returned from a visit to Morocco, says a shipment could leave Fremantle within months.

He says the Moroccan government has turned to Australia because its sheep supply is reliable and disease-free. Animal health protocols for sheep and cattle export between the two countries have recently been signed.

“The Moroccan agricultural minister personally conveyed to us how important opening this trade with Australia will be to their country’s food security,” he said.

“We were in turn able to convey how beneficial opening this market will be for WA sheep producers.”

A Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry spokesperson said exporters to Morocco must get prior approval under the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System before any export can occur.

Shipments to Middle East countries from Fremantle can only be exported outside the northern hemisphere summer after a highly publicised spate of sheep deaths on board livestock ships, caused by heat stress and prolonged voyages.

Responding to questions over length of journey and climate conditions, Harvey-Sutton said a livestock voyage to a Moroccan port would take around two to three weeks, about the same time as to Gulf ports.

He said the West African trade may be able to claim exemption from the summer moratorium applying to Middle East destinations.

“There’s no doubt there’s a different climate from the Gulf and Red Sea. The prohibition talks about those regions, so the current regulations are silent on West Africa,” he said.

However, Alliance for Animals spokesman Dr Jed Goodfellow told this masthead that sea voyages from Fremantle to Morocco generally took around five weeks and required circumnavigating the African continent.

“This would be an extremely arduous journey for the animals, having to endure dangerous sea conditions in the South Atlantic, standing and lying in their own faeces and urine for weeks on end, and experiencing extreme changes in climatic conditions,” he said.

“The export industry’s eagerness to send our sheep into this market is another clear example of their complete disregard for animal welfare … this is just another exercise in ALEC selling false hope to farmers in a desperate bid to breathe life into a dying trade.”

“We want to ramp up our campaign in those electorates as soon as the federal election is called.”

Mark Harvey-Sutton, Australian Live Export Council

The Morocco bid comes as both sides of the live export debate prepare to ramp up campaigning in the lead-up to a federal election.

Animal rights groups have joined in a nationwide advertising campaign to oppose the trade and support Labor’s export ban.

Stop Live Exports, Animals Australia and the Australian Alliance for Animals say the election will be “a referendum on animal cruelty”, highlighting the suffering of live sheep during lengthy voyages.

They point to a slump in the live sheep trade that led to its lowest volumes last year, exporting 419,000 sheep – or 34 per cent fewer animals – than the previous year.

Meanwhile, Australia is projected to export a record $5.2 billion in boxed and chilled lamb and mutton next year, with far higher returns than live sheep export.

Pro-export groups will counter these arguments with social media campaigning by WA farmers dependent on the livestock export trade.

Holly Ludeman, animal vet and founder of The Livestock Collective, said a priority would be delivering educational material to electors.

She welcomed the Morocco export bid as “a clear sign that Australia is in demand and can provide food security to the world”.

Harvey-Sutton said Canberra-based ALEC and WA-based Keep the Sheep lobbyists would conduct surveys in key seats in coming weeks to track support.

“We want to ramp up our campaign in those electorates as soon as the federal election is called,” he said.

“I think this government has severely underestimated how much of an election issue it will be. We are targeting WA, and I think it will shape how people vote in those electorates.”

Harvey-Sutton said ALEC and The Livestock Collective have refused invitations to assist in shaping the government’s $139 million transition package out of live export, with WA workshops due to start in February.

“We don’t want to be part of that process, or legitimise it,” he said.

“They’re clueless and looking to the very industry that they’re harming to try and get an answer. We are encouraging other groups not to participate.”

However, Sheep Producers Australia CEO Bonnie Skinner said she would take part in the co-design process.

“SPA’s role is to advocate for farmers during this unwanted and unjustified transition caused by the government’s legislated ban on live sheep exports by sea,” she said.

“Ultimately, Sheep Producers Australia wants to see this ban overturned.

“But if it cannot be stopped, our producers, their businesses and their communities must receive support.”

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