MV Bahijah back in port after week off shore of Fremantle

Cattle and sheep from the beleaguered MV Bahijah are being unloaded in Fremantle this week, as criticisms mount on the delays in decision making. See the latest.

Cattle and sheep from the beleaguered live export ship the MV Bahijah are being unloaded this week as angst over the failed voyage continues.

A statement from the Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry on Tuesday said the stock were being sent from the ship “to appropriate premises in Western Australia”.

“While the livestock currently aboard the vessel are high-quality Australian animals, they will remain under strict biosecurity control at appropriate premises while the exporter considers its options,” the statement said.

But there have again been criticisms, from animal welfare groups and even Cattle Australia over the length of time it took to decide the fate of the livestock.

Sheep and cattle had been on the MV Bahijah since January 5 when the vessel departed for Israel. But the shipping company made the decision to re-route the vessel via South Africa, for fears that Houthi rebels in the Red Sea would attack the ship.

The ship has been docking in and out of port at Fremantle since it arrived back in Australian waters, as it awaited the DAFF’s decision on whether or not it could head back to Israel via the new route – an application that was ultimately denied.

Cattle Australia president Garry Edwards said his organisation had been “intimately involved” in the communication and engagement with the government on the issue of MV Bahijah.

“Cattle Australia has continually made its viewpoint that this should have been resolved in a far more timely manner very clear,” Mr Edwards said.

“The CA team is actively engaging with the management within the department on a daily basis in an attempt to work towards a practical and positive outcome to this situation.

“CA will be pursuing the tardiness in decision-making processes with the Department once the issue has been resolved.”

DAFF acting first secretary plant and live animal exports welfare and regulation division Andrew McDonald released a 14-page document on the reasoning behind the refusal to re-export the livestock and defended the time taken to make that decision.

“It is regrettable that this has meant that despite my and the department’s best efforts, it was not possible to make a decision earlier,” he said.

“The expediency and manner of interactions with the department and other authorities can have a real and detrimental impact on a decision maker’s ability to make a timely decision.”