Live Export: Inspector General for Animal Welfare probes handling of ‘significant livestock export incidents’

Australia’s Inspector General for Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports is conducting two probes to work out how the Federal Government could better handle “significant livestock export incidents”, including the MV Bahijah event in January last year. The Federal Government put the call out for industry groups to have their say on the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s “performance in regulating livestock exports”, with submissions for both reviews open from February 24 to April 22. Dr Katherine Clift was named Australia’s first permanent Inspector General of Animal Welfare and Live Animal Exports in September, taking the reins from Dr Mike Bond — who was appointed in an interim capacity in October 2023. The IGLAE position was established as part of a suite of measures introduced by the Australian Government after a 2018 independent review into Australia’s regulation of live animal exports. The review was ordered by then-agriculture minister David Littleproud after thousands of sheep died aboard the Awassi Express. The Inspector General is an independent statutory officer responsible for reviewing the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s performance of functions and exercise of powers in regulating livestock exports. A department spokeswoman said industry feedback via the two reviews would be considered by Dr Clift and a review team, with a report scheduled to be published in the third quarter of this year. The first review focuses on how the department responds to significant livestock export incidents, with the aim of ensuring the department is “well-prepared to act during a significant livestock incident”. The second was focused on the department’s regulation of the preparation of livestock for exports, examining the “extent to which current requirements support animal welfare”. Countryman understands the Federal Government’s response to the MV Bahijah incident is among the incidents being investigated, after the ship bound for the Middle East was ordered back to Australia due to rising tensions in the Red Sea. Its 16,000 sheep and cattle spent five weeks stuck on board off the Perth coast before being re-exported to the Middle East via Africa’s Cape of Good Hope — a journey of more than 30 days, compared to the usual Perth to Middle East voyage of two weeks. Marine Traffic data shows the MV Bahijah left Fremantle earlier this month and was due to arrive in Las Palmas, Spain, on April 30. One industry contact said they had been called upon to talk about “what went wrong” in their submission and believed the ship’s owners — Israeli company Bassem Dabbah — had no plans to return to WA. A Department of Agriculture spokesman said the reviews aimed to “promote continual improvements in the regulatory practice, performance and culture of the department”. She said they would also provide an additional layer of accountability and assurance of the regulation of Australia’s livestock exports. “Information regarding the consultation was also sent to the range of organisations, groups and individuals that have previously registered their interest with the Inspector General,” she said. “The Inspector General publishes a report at the conclusion of each review.” When probed on the cost of the review, the department spokeswoman said the “activities of the department in relation to management of all live animal export incidents falls within the normal budget allocation to the responsible areas”. “Any costs related to the management of an incident in so far as they relate to the logistics of the consignment of animals, including compliance with export and biosecurity legislation, is a commercial matter for the exporter and related commercial parties,” she said. “The department is not normally notified of these commercial costs. The department has not received any notice of legal action.”