The following article is a piece I wrote whilst in Townsville documenting the AMIEU “live export exports jobs” campaign and was published on the Humane Chain website:

“Live export exports jobs” echoed through Townsville on Tuesday as local meat workers, Union representatives and politicians launched a public campaign to phase out live export by 2015. Writes Reuben Brand.

Labor candidate for Herbert Tony Mooney expressed his concern about job losses at the launch of the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union’s (AMIEU) “live export exports jobs” campaign in Townsville this week.

This year alone, 960 full-time Australian meat workers’ jobs have been lost nation-wide. In response to the large number of jobs already lost, Mr Mooney announced that he supported the AMIEU’s campaign to end live export by 2015.

“Last week I experienced a day in the life of a meat worker – it’s backbreaking work, so I appreciate what these workers do and their contribution to the community and economy.
“Nearly 300 jobs have been lost in Townsville, that’s just plain dumb – so I am supporting this campaign to end live export and if elected to the seat of Herbert look forward to working with the Union and broader industry to address the issue,” said Mooney.

“My father was a butcher so I’ve been a long-time supporter of the meat industry and meat processing,” he said.

The AMIEU press conference was set on the headland in front of the seaport which is frequented by live export vessels. Local meat workers peppered the headland as they came out in solidarity to fight for their jobs, two of whom were dressed as seven ft. trays of packaged meat.



Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh raised her concerns in Parliament last week saying that it is not in the long term interest of livestock producers for the industry to decline.

“Top if the list will be the impact of live cattle exports,” said Bligh.

“I have met with the Meat Processing Industry and I know they are very concerned about the number of live cattle being sent overseas, instead of processed here…abattoirs and the jobs of meat workers, are not viable without a consistent supply of stock.” She said

AMIEU Federal Secretary, Brian Crawford said that, “Every shipload of animals exported and processed overseas means less jobs right here in Queensland.

Local meat worker, Tiffany Kerle spoke about the huge impact that live export is having on Australian workers, their families and local communities.

“The loss of jobs and scaling-back of shifts is particularly hard on working mothers who have to be there for their family and for student who are trying to pay for their education.” Said Kerle.

“This year, for 267 people who no longer had employment it was just another hit, we all struggled to make payments on rent, mortgages, cars and to put food on the table due to live export,” she said.

The AMIEU is calling for the Government to phase out live export, implement a chilled meat trade and in doing so, recognise the huge benefits that keeping Australian meat processing jobs in Australia will have on the economy and rural and regional communities.

I recently attended and filmed the premiere screening of “American Radical: the trials of Norman Finkelstein” in Sydney. A fantastic documentary about an amazing individual.

The event was hosted by Independent Australian Jewish Voices and the Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine.

After the screening of the film the floor was open for discussion during a Q & A session with a panel of guest speakers who included:

Antony Loewenstein - Independent Journalist, author of “My Israel Question” among others, political commentator and Blogger.

Peter Manning - Former Executive Producer of the landmark ABC current affairs program ‘Four Corners’. Adjunct Professor of Journalism at Sydney’s University of Technology and author of “Us and Them: Media, Muslims and the Middle East.”

Dr Peter Slezak - “Senior lecturer in philosophy at the University of New South Wales and occasional public commentator on science, philosophy, religion and politics.”

The following is a short mini doco I put together of the event, published online at Antony Loewenstein’s website:

My following article regarding the live export trade from Australia to the Middle East was published today at the Window Dressers Arms - it was also re-published at The Daily Bludge, where it made headlines on the front page.

Live export is not only cruelly exporting Australian animals; it is crippling local industry and exporting our jobs. Writes Reuben Brand

After conducting numerous investigations at livestock markets and abattoirs throughout the Middle East, I returned to Australia with hours of footage and hundreds of photographs that document the inhumane treatment these animals endure at the receiving end of the live export trade.

These investigations were launched by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore during a forum at Parliament House in Sydney, where I spoke alongside representatives from the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU).

Since my return I have been working closely with local meat processors and Australian meat workers who are now doing it tough due to the fact that there is simply not enough livestock to support local industry because they are all being shipped offshore.

The myths about why live export is important are many; the most common are as follows:

Myth: “Many people do not have the luxury of home refrigeration, and supermarkets are often inaccessible and unaffordable to those living in regional villages.”

Fact: Australia predominately exports to the Gulf region which, despite industry claims, is a very prosperous region for obvious reasons. Oil. The idea of “a lack of refrigeration” is not only an extremely ignorant and un-researched claim, but it is highly culturally offensive. People in the Middle East are not Bedouins living in tents, during my time living in the region I saw more luxury vehicles and high-rises than I see in Sydney or any other “developed” country. Supermarkets are very plentiful and very accessible, all of which stock a huge variety of chilled meat – with Australian chilled meat as the cheapest and most sort after of all.

Did I mention that Dubai has air-conditioned public bus stops and indoor ski slopes? But apparently no one has a fridge. Go figure.

Myth: “The supply of live animals is also important for religious and cultural reasons.”

Fact: Yes, there are religious celebrations that require live animals – only two times a year. Eid al Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and Eid al Adha, that marks the end of the pilgrimage to Mecca. Only twice a year – but we continue to send live animals 365 days a year.

I spoke to one of the young migrant workers at a livestock market in the region who told me he does not get paid by the local livestock company for his services. Rather, they give him a small amount of food and let him sleep in the holding pens with the animals. He has a Diploma of Associate Engineering and this is what he gets. This kind of cheap labour comes at a very high price and is all the more reason for Australia put an end to a trade that treats both humans and animals so appallingly.

The solid fact of the matter is that the live export trade is exporting Australian jobs (to countries that in some cases don’t even pay their employees) and is crippling our meat processing industry.

During a recent trip to Townsville and Dinmore in Queensland, I interviewed meat workers who are now either unemployed or have had their shifts cut right back and are trying to survive on government handouts.

In Townsville I watched as truck after truck, loaded with cattle, drove straight past the local abattoir. One local meat worker, who is now unemployed, told me that the export vessel docked in the harbour was not only exporting cattle, it was exporting the jobs of approximately 250 people who had just been stood down.

“Nobody is working today and yet there is a boat with thousands of cattle leaving. Thousands! You know, that’s a whole months’ worth of work for us,” she said.

According to Grant Courtney, President of the AMIEU, 40,000 people have lost their jobs and 150 processing plants have been shut down due to the live export trade – over 700 of these job losses have happened in the past six months alone.

“I can’t understand why the Government is sticking its head in the sand when thousands of Australian jobs are being lost due to this trade,” he said.

Another man I spoke to who lost his job at the local abattoir is now struggling just to keep his family afloat. His fiancé, who is also pregnant, has now had to go back into the workforce to try to support their growing family.

With no money for food or bills, no fuel in the car, debt collectors breathing down his neck and relying on donations to survive, life is becoming increasingly tough he bravely told me.

“Lately it’s been getting pretty bad… we’ve even had to go down to the local community centre and grab food vouchers… You start to appreciate things like that when people donate food and money vouchers so you can live.”

Shift cut backs and job losses at the processing plant in Dinmore now have workers pondering the future of the Australian meat processing industry. As one woman told me, if the Dinmore plant is suffering, which is one of the biggest in Australia, then she can’t see hope for the survival of any of the smaller ones.

“Every boat of cattle that leave this county, leave the Australian worker and I know what it feels like without work…it’s no good saying that the live cattle export doesn’t contribute, it certainly does. Because it’s just got worse and worse,” she said.

With a daughter who has a terminal illness and needs a surgery that could save her life, this woman courageously sat and gave a first-hand account of how the live export trade is affecting her life and many others who are now in the same boat.

Andrew Martell, a sheep farmer from central Western NSW, attended the live export forum at Parliament House last month and made some points during Q and A time – he also told the room that he receives the same amount of money for his sheep regardless whether he sells them to exporters or local industry.

So why on Earth would you want to send sheep offshore to be slaughtered and transported inhumanely when you could have it all done here and create much needed jobs in the process?

It is an absurd idea to think that all people in the Middle East buy their daily meat from a wet market – can you imagine how long it would take just to buy a single steak? Local supermarkets and butcher shops operate on a cuts and carcass trade where the outcome for the consumer would remain the same with a chilled meat trade.

Independent research, conducted by ACIL Tasman, shows that a sheep processed domestically is worth 20 per cent more to the Australian economy than one exported live.

According to the Australian live export industry this trade contributes $1.8 billion to the economy, so by using their own figures, if we phase out the live export trade and implement a chilled meat trade for export we could have an industry that injects $2.16 billion into our economy. Not to mention the huge impact it will have on Australian jobs.

A chilled meat trade is not only a sustainable alternative but is also extremely lucrative for all involved, be it farmer, processor or meat worker.

To view a video of Reuben’s investigation in the Middle East please click here

To view interviews of meat workers please click here

Below is my second installment in a small series of thoughts on the world around us - Published this week at The Window Dressers Arms:

The following is my latest piece regarding the live export trade - it was published today on the Humane Chain website:

Mayor of Fremantle calls to end live export – Uganda bans it completely

By Reuben Brand

Pressure is mounting for Australia to make a stand and put an end to live animal export as the Government of Uganda takes the lead and announces a total ban of the trade.

As the Mayor of Fremantle in WA calls for the live export trade to be phased out over the next five years, the Government of Uganda leads the charge and will soon implement a total ban on live animal export. The shift in policy is a direct need to create more jobs and stimulate the Ugandan economy by value adding the animals locally.

During a press conference, Bright Rwamirama, Uganda’s Minister of State for Animal Industry, announced the decision and gave the following statement.

“We will very soon ban the exportation of live animals in a move to promote value addition and other animal bi-products in the country. By doing that we will also create employment opportunities.”

Rwamirama also announced the construction of a new abattoir and meat processing facility in the central region to ensure all meat products meet export standards.

On average Uganda exports 500 head of cattle, 400 sheep and 600 goats every day to neighbouring countries and to the Middle East. This shift in policy will see a boom in local industry and the creation of much needed jobs.

Australia needs to follow Uganda’s example when it comes to live export, as every boat load of livestock that leaves this country takes with it Australian jobs.

The Mayor of Fremantle, Brad Pettitt, is not too far behind and has called for live export to be completely phased out over the next five years. Mr Pettitt said live animal exports are cruel and Fremantle council needs to take the lead on this issue.

“Despite the best intentions and the best efforts from the industry, it’s clear that animal welfare is often compromised.”

“In the 21st century, the live sheep trade is something that I think we need to be phasing away from. The idea that we just see this trade continuing indefinitely is not acceptable,” he said.

A resolution accepted by Fremantle council’s strategic and general services committee called for live animal exports to be completely phased out and replaced with a chilled meat trade.

The Australian Government stubbornly continues to support the archaic live export trade – how long will it take the rest of our politicians to stand up for what is right? And how many other countries need to lead the way before Australia finally follows suit?

Below is a series of interviews I conducted with Australian Meat Workers who are now either unemployed or or have had their shifts cut right back due to the live export trade taking business offshore. Broadcast at Parliament House in Sydney and published online at the Humane Chain blog-page, The Body Shop Activist and numerous others. Interviewees were filmed on location in Townsville and Dinmore in Queensland:

WSPA and The Body Shop teamed up and initiated a campaign aimed at raising awareness and putting an end to the inherently cruel live export trade. During the month long campaign (March 15 to April 11) staff at every Body Shop store throughout Australia informed customers about the cruelty these animals endure on a daily basis and dispelled some of the myths about live export.

The campaign created an incredible response, with 63,000 people signing up to The Humane Chain to show their support to end this trade.

Below are some photos I took that are now being put to good use - the photos were taken during my investigations in the Middle East regarding the live export trade from Australia and were on display at all Body Shop stores:

The Daily Telegraph published the following article regarding today’s forum at Parliament House:

Calls to end Australia’s ‘inhumane’ sheep export

* By Andrew Drummond
* From: AAP
* March 10, 2010 2:56PM

IN years to come, Australians will view the nation’s “inhumane” live animal exports with similar abhorrence to slave trading, animal welfare advocates say.

Some four million sheep leave Australian shores each year, embarking on a “long, cruel journey” to the Middle East, the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) says.

During a public forum at NSW Parliament House on Wednesday, WSPA said sheep which survived the three-week trip often arrived injured before being callously slaughtered.

It claims only 20 per cent of Australian sheep exported live are used for religious purposes and is calling for a shift to a chilled meat trade.

However, sheep farmer Andrew Martel told the forum the Middle East market demanded live meat imports and if Australia did not meet that need, other countries would.

Freelance journalist Reuben Brand, commissioned by WSPA, showed footage of his recent visits to Middle Eastern livestock saleyards and abattoirs.

He said he witnessed shipments of live sheep arrive from Australia “suffering from a heightened state of stress” during the past seven months.

“I saw sheep being dragged by the back legs, trussed, bound and thrown into car boots … animals were being killed - skinned and gutted - in front of other animals.”

He said his research found 40,000 sheep died in transit annually and animals often didn’t have adequate access to water and were in cramped conditions with about three sheep per square metre, standing on wire mesh flooring.

WSPA programs director Emily Reeves said it was “shameful” both sides of federal politics supported the trade, particularly when more Australian jobs could be supported by adopting a chilled meat trade.

“We have Halal-accredited meat processors here in Australia who could be doing that work,” she said.

WSPA research found a sheep processed in Australia was worth 20 per cent more to the economy than a sheep exported live.

Ms Reeves conceded the Australian government had worked in conjunction with foreign authorities to improve conditions for animals, but said “inhumane” treatment continued.

She said an end to live meat exports was a long-term goal, considering Australia was the world’s largest exporter of live sheep.

But Ms Reeves said it would happen one day and Australians would then “look back on these days in horror, as we do now of the slave trade”.

Mr Martel, from Wellington in central western NSW, accepted the trade wasn’t “squeaky clean”, but said it was improving and Australia needed to remain in the market.

“They want live sheep. That’s the market, and if we don’t offer that then they will get it from somewhere else,” he said.

“One of their other options is to source the stock from China, and then we will see how the humane treatment goes.”

Below is a blog post from the Humane Chain’s website regarding the investigation launch and Parliament House Forum:

WSPA launches new live export cruelty investigation today alongside the Meat Workers Union

Below is a video I put together regarding the investigations I did in livestock markets and abattoirs in the Middle East - included in the video are interviews with Associate Professor Paul McGreevy, veterinary Behaviourist, Dr Manuela Trueby and Murshid F.A. Ali ElSenossi, Islamic Scholar and Teacher.

This video was broadcast today at Parliament House in Sydney as part of the Humane Chain Forum about the live export trade: