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From the very first investigations into cruel unregulated slaughter in 2006 to the heartbreaking exposé of heat-stricken, panting sheep lying in piles of their melting feces aboard the Awassi Express, which aired on Australian national television in 2018, it’s been clear that the live-export industry is a monstrous animal abuser.
Now, despite decades of attempted regulation and review by the government, more footage showing Australian cattle being restrained with ropes and their throats being cut while they’re still conscious in Indonesia has prompted another federal government investigation.
Every year, Australia exports millions of live cows and sheep on hellish journeys to Asia and the Middle East, forcing them to endure a grueling trip across thousands of miles—sometimes in searing heat—that may take weeks. More than 200 million animals have been crammed onto filthy cargo ships over the last 30 years, and more than 2.5 million of them have been trampled to death or have died from dehydration, starvation, or disease.
The suffering doesn’t end for those who survive the journey. There are virtually no laws to protect animals in the countries they’re sold to, and they’re often subjected to abuse and methods of slaughter that are illegal in Australia. Investigators have seen animals being roughly dragged from ships, sometimes by their legs. Many are thrown into trucks and cars, and most of their throats are cut with blunt or unsuitable knives—while they’re still conscious, a terrifying and agonizing way to die.
The Australian government has already spent too much time and taxpayer money reviewing an industry that Australians have known for more than a decade is unfathomably cruel and must end.
Make sure Australian Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud knows this by sending him a letter via the form below.