Long distance transport of Tasmanian animals
This clearly affects the Tasmanian economy, and takes jobs out of Tasmania.
Animals may be purchased for this transport from saleyards anywhere in the state. Many may come from Bridgewater in the south, for example, where sales are held on Mondays. Animals may be delivered to saleyards the day before the sale and not collected until the day after. or even later They will have been 'curfewed' (deprived of food and water) for 24 hours before transport to the saleyard, almost certainly will not be fed at the saleyard, then they will be transported to Devonport in the state's north west. Some go to abattoirs in the north of the State (at least a four hour truck journey), others are taken to the wharf at Devonport to wait for shipping interstate.
On 22.07.2009, we followed this truck, which took four decks of sheep to the Devonport wharf. The transporter and prime mover leave the trailer of animals to await loading. The heads of dozens of sheep can clearly be seen on the top deck of the truck. The truck turned off to the wharf at East Devonport, and the camber of where the truck turns makes it easy for the animals to fall or jump out.
StopTAC has seen trailer-loads of animals left on the wharf at East Devonport in the full glare of the sun in summer and exposed to bitter cold in the winter before being loaded onto the top decks of the 'roll-on/roll-off' ships 'Searoad Tamar' and 'Searoad Mersey' which cross overnight to Victoria.
The animals are also exposed to rough seas and spray during the Bass Strait crossing. If the seas are sufficiently rough the ship may be turned back, with the animals remaining on the trailers for the duration. It could be that they are deprived of food and even water for several days. An unknown number of animals dies throughout this transport, and we have no way of monitoring what happens to them throughout, or upon their arrival in Victoria.
(Two trailers of animals on the top of the ship,including the one we followed on 22.07.2009)
The 'Searoad Mersey', one of two small roll-on/roll of ships which transport 350,000-400,000 Tasmanian animals interstate each year
We took up the matter of the animals not being fed at the point of saleyards with Dr Rod Andrewartha, the state's Chief Veterinarian and current head of the Animal Welfare Unit at DPIW. Dr Andrewartha is also on the Board of RSPCA Tasmania.
(Additional Note - 03.08.2009 StopTAC has been informed that Dr Andrewartha has resigned from the Board of RSPCA Tasmamia, believed to have occurred in June)
This is his response (with our emphasis):-
These guidelines (and the same applied when they were previously called standards) are advisory. Failure to comply with the guidelines is not an offence under the Act.
The Act was amended in 2008 and now under section 44A it includes provisions to prescribe animal welfare standards which must be followed. Work is progressing nationally developing standards which will be adopted under this provision but to date no standards have been prescribed for animals in saleyards.
As the guidelines are only advisory, any concern in relation to failure to provide feed or water to an animal needs to be addressed under section 8 of the Act. This section does not provide any time limits within which feed or water must be provided, but simply refers to providing appropriate and sufficient food, drink etc.
This means that simply holding sheep in saleyards from more than 24 hours without feed or water is not an offence under the Act. For there to be an offence it would be necessary to demonstrate that the sheep were subject to "unreasonable and unjustifiable pain or suffering" (s8(1)) as a result of being confined and not being provided with "appropriate and sufficient food or drink" (s8(2(e))).
We continue to monitor saleyards and remind the livestock agents of the provisions in the guidelines. Action has and will be taken in circumstances where an offence under section 8 of the Act can be substantiated.
regards
Rod Andrewartha
Chief Veterinary Officer
Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment
Phone 03 6233 6836
Fax 03 6278 1875
We would like Dr Andrewartha to clarify how the animals are to prove that they are suffering from a lack of food and water over what could be a number of days, because we suggest that any animal so deprived will suffer physiological (and other) harm at any point in this rigorous process.
At an earlier time, we also took the issue of this journey up with Dr Mick Middleton, the now retired head of the Animal Welfare Unit at DPIW, and he claimed that this journey is 'the most regulated in the country'. He was unable to tell us, however, who monitors this regulation.
We also took up the issue with the Minister, David Llewellyn, who was also the Attorney General at the time, in the context of sending Tasmanian animals to Victoria for live export, and another section of the Australian Constitution, s118, which provides that 'full faith and credit shall be given, throughout the Commonwealth, to the laws, pubic Acts and records, and the judicial proceedings of every State'. Our reference was that the animals should therefore be protected by Tasmania's Animal Welfare Act, and were clearly being transported in a manner that would cause 'unreasonable and unjustifiable pain and suffering'.
Mr Llewellyn's response was that he would not 'debate the Constitution with (us)'
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