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Australia suspends live cattle trade to Indonesia | Australia suspends live cattle trade to Indonesia |
(about 3 hours later) | |
The Australian government has suspended the live export of cattle to 11 abattoirs in Indonesia, after a TV documentary showed brutal treatment of animals at the facilities. | |
The footage, broadcast on ABC, showed cattle being flogged and taking minutes to die after their necks were slashed. | |
Some MPs have called for a total ban on the trade with Indonesia, worth more than A$300m (£200m; $320m) a year. | |
But Indonesian officials have asked Australia not to rush into a decision. | |
The head of animal welfare at Indonesia's agriculture ministry, Sri Mukartini, said: "Animal welfare is a relatively new issue in Indonesia. We're still developing regulations." | |
'Systemic problem' | |
Australia's Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig said he had found the images in ABC's Four Corners programme "shocking in the extreme". | |
"I have decided to halt the trade of live animals to the facilities identified by the footage," he said. | |
"Further, I will appoint an independent reviewer to investigate the complete supply chain for live exports up to and including the point of slaughter. | "Further, I will appoint an independent reviewer to investigate the complete supply chain for live exports up to and including the point of slaughter. |
"I reserve the right to add further facilities to the banned list, if required." | "I reserve the right to add further facilities to the banned list, if required." |
The lobby group Animals Australia first uncovered cruel treatment in the abattoirs in March. | |
The ABC documentary showed cattle being whipped, kicked, slashed with knives and banging their heads against concrete floors. | |
One official from the animal welfare group, the RSPCA, said some steers might still have been conscious when they were dismembered. | One official from the animal welfare group, the RSPCA, said some steers might still have been conscious when they were dismembered. |
The BBC's Sydney correspondent, Nick Bryant, says that many viewers who saw the gruesome footage said they were physically sick at the sight of Australian cattle being treated so cruelly. | |
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie said he would immediately introduce a bill to ban the live export of cattle to Indonesia completely. | |
"We have cattle going to Indonesia which are being mistreated by numerous slaughterhouses on a scale that proves it is a systemic problem, not only in Indonesia... but it's a systemic problem in Australia's whole live-export industry," Mr Wilkie told reporters. | |
The Australian live-export industry has shipped more than 6.5 million head of cattle to Indonesia for slaughter over the last 20 years. | |