Live export investigation into export standards for sheep sold into Jordon still ongoing

A federal government investigation into a suspected breach of live export standards for sheep sold into Jordan is yet to be finalised more than 12 months on.

Investigations into a suspected breach of live export standards for sheep sold into Jordan are still ongoing more than 12 months after the report was first made.

In September last year, Animals Australia made a report of noncompliance with Export Supply Chain Assurance System standards over sheep exported to Jordan.

The report, made to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, detailed noncompliance in infrastructure, handling and slaughter.

But a year later, the DAFF investigation is still “in progress”.

Animals Australia legal counsel Shata Hamade said the significant ongoing delays in the department’s investigation process had been a serious concern since ESCAS was implemented.

“This issue has been highlighted in multiple reviews by the inspector general of live animal exports over the years ... it remains a problem,” Ms Hamade said.

“The department does not provide updates on the investigations, and exporters which are the subject of complaints have been allowed to continue exporting animals, including the exporter in the September 2023 complaint.”

Ms Hamade said the ESCAS investigation process was ineffective.

“It does nothing to promote deterrence of further ESCAS breaches,” she said.

“This is demonstrated by the repeat offending of exporters, in the same manner, and in the same export markets, over and over again.”

A DAFF spokesman said the department investigated all incidents when they were reported, “including taking prompt action if the situation requires it”.

“The length of any investigation will be dependent on the specific circumstances of the incident, and can take time,” the spokesman said.

DAFF has also not produced a performance summary report of its ESCAS investigations for more than a year.

“Publishing performance reports is an important part of public transparency, but it is also the last step in a process and is not indicative of whether action has been taken or not taken in relation to a particular incident,” the DAFF spokesman said.

Investigations into a reported breach of live export rules have taken more than a year to finalise and they are not yet finished.

Australian Livestock Exporters Council chief executive Mark Harvey-Sutton said investigations should be resolved as quickly as possible.

“Ultimately, these investigations need to be conducted comprehensively and in a manner that accords to procedural fairness ... we acknowledge that sometimes this means investigations can take longer,” Mr Harvey-Sutton said.

He said there had been a “relatively small number” of investigations in the last year.

“This is a reflection of exporters’ commitment to continuous improvement of animal welfare outcomes in their supply chains and also reflects the high standards that exporters maintain,” Mr Harvey-Sutton said.

“We continue to reiterate that we are the only country in the world that has a regulatory framework that seeks to assure welfare in our receiving markets – something which the current Albanese seems intent on destroying with its misguided and activist driven live sheep ban.”