Officers would only raise alarm if distress, smoke or blood seen

TT-Line employees have told a court that a horse trailer would only be checked for certain reasons. LATEST >>

OFFICERS who patrol the vehicle and freight decks on the Spirit of Tasmania vessels would only raise an alert if there was a sign something was wrong such as smoke, blood or undue noise coming from a trailer during transit, a court has heard.

In an interview with Biosecurity Tasmania officers played in the Burnie Magistrates Court, TT-Line’s Stuart Michael and Paul Davis said horse trailers are not opened and inspected on board and the onus was on the transporter to ensure horses had enough food, water and ventilation.

The witnesses’ interview was played as part of a hearing into the deaths of 16 out of 18 horses being transported on a trailer owned by former polo champion Andrew Williams across Bass Strait in 2018.

The horses were being transported back to Victoria after competing in a polo tournament at Barnbougle in Tasmania.

TT-Line has pleaded not guilty to animal welfare charges in relation to the polo ponies deaths.

The dead horses were found when the converted semi-trailer arrived at Yarra Glen where they were due to be rested.

The Spirit of Tasmania. Picture: Mark Wilson

The court has already heard evidence the horses died of respiratory failure.

The two closest to the back of the trailer where extra air was available survived.

Mr Williams, who had used the same trailer to transport horses across Bass Strait on the ferries on numerous occasions before without incident, has already pleaded guilty to using a transport method reasonably likely to result in unreasonable and unjustifiable pain and suffering and 16 counts of failing to ensure the horses were individually stalled in relation to that tragic trip in January 28.

Mr Michael, TT-Line’s general manager of marine operations, said there needed to be a “red flag” such as smouldering for deck officers to raise an alarm that something was wrong.

“We cannot enter a freight unit or a horse float.

“In some cases you can see horses through the ventilation windows but with most units you are hard pressed to get a visual,” Mr Michael said.

“But if there was blood coming out of an animal transport unit or undue noise such as a horse constantly kicking the back door that would trigger us to find the owner.”

Ventilation expert Dr Conrad Stacey, who has done studies on heat stress on sheep and cattle transported on live export ships going to the Middle East, told the court the 18 ponies on board the Spirit of Tasmania that voyage would have generated 20kw of heat inside the trailer.

“The horses could not reject their heat so they were going to cook,” Dr Stacey told Magistrate Leanne Topfer.

TT-Line’s lawyers argued that while Dr Stacey had expertise in live export transport that did not mean he was qualified to give evidence on roll-on, roll-off passenger and freight vessels such as the Spirit of Tasmania ferries.