Northern summer live sheep trade to Middle East halted for three months

Live exports of sheep to the Middle East will be halted for the three months of the northern summer from next June.

The three-month ban will mean live sheep won’t be exported during the highest heat stress risk period of the northern summer.

Australian live sheep won’t be exported to the Middle East during the next northern hemisphere summer after the industry put a three-month moratorium on the trade.

From June 1 next year no shipments of Australian sheep will depart any Australian port for the Middle East during the highest heat stress risk period of the northern summer — in a move expected to cost the industry about $55 million a year.

Exporters will observe the moratorium while the industry develops new technology which could address the heat risks associated with June, July and August shipments.

Ways to detect and avoid temperature extremes, along with on-board dehumidification are among the measures being considered by research and development body Livecorp.

Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council chairman Simon Crean said the moratorium was about maintaining a strong and viable nine-month-a-year live sheep trade. “The live sheep trade to the Middle East needs to be reset,” Mr Crean said.

It comes after crossbench MPs ramped up the pressure on the government to support a push to phase out live sheep exports over five years. Labor has committed to ending the trade if elected to government at next year’s federal election, pledging to transition the industry to chilled meat processing.

The coalition government has reformed the trade through lower stocking densities and independent observers on all voyages after shocking footage sparked calls for the industry to be shut down.

Earlier in the year, video was released of sheep dying in their own filth in horrific conditions aboard a ship destined for the Middle East. Mr Crean said June to August sheep exports to the Middle East are worth $55 million each year.

“The moratorium will, without any doubt, impact farm gate returns,” he said. “But this decision shows the genuine care exporters have for livestock — values we share with producers — and our commitment to the industry’s future.”

— AAP