Friday, February 7, 2025

The WA Minister has learnt nothing from the live export debate

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“The Cook Government has been a leader in adopting the new poultry standards and guidelines and phasing out battery cages, reflecting community expectations for improved treatment, care and management of all animals.

The new poultry regulations are designed to be proactive and support better welfare, safety and health outcomes in both commercial and backyard flocks.”
WA Minister for Agriculture and Food, Forestry, and Small Business, the Hon. Jackie Jarvis, 13 December 2024.

Has our State Minister for Agriculture learnt nothing from the live export debate?

Did she pay attention to the blatant move by activist organisations such as the RSPCA driving the agenda around animal welfare instead of listening to her own department’s scientific evidence?

As Minister for Food has she no interest in the impact this will have on affordable food on battlers’ plates?

As Minister for Small Business does she not understand that this will open the door to Eastern states imports of caged eggs?

So, what’s next if Jackie Jarvis ends up as WA Minister for Agriculture after the next election – imposing bans on intensive piggeries, dairy calves, long distance transport of livestock, live export of cattle?

No doubt the animal activists are making a beeline for the Ministers door to trot out their views on what the next government should do over the next four years.

No doubt they think they are experts on animal welfare and are in touch with what the community thinks.

We need to hear from the Minister in the lead up to the election as to why chickens are different to other livestock and how she measures animal welfare and community expectations.

If she is going to be leading WA down the proactive animal activist path, we need to know which industry is next in the firing line.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Labor governments have dismembered the native forest industry across Australia to reduce the drift of votes to the greens party for decades. The industry has been used as a trade-off to get greens party support on unrelated legislation. The same process seems to have been put in place with the animal justice party (ajp). The Australian livestock industries are the bargaining chip in this regional industry and community destroying agenda.

    One ajp guiding principle is: “Each animal is the experiencing subject of a life. Animals and the natural environment should be respected for their own sake, not merely for their instrumental values.” This principle presumably justifies their opposition to feral animal control, even if predation results in extinction of native fauna species.

    Another is: “Humans have the responsibility to avoid harm to animals and the environment through their lifestyles, diets and practices.” This commits us all to a future vegan existence.

    On the live sheep export ban several questions need to be answered by the labor, federal environment minister. What impact will the ban have on grazing land value across Australian rangelands. Is this policy a means to force farmers to abandon or otherwise allow the government to resume their farms? Is the ban part of labor’s strategy to lock up 30% of the continent by 2030, at the lowest cost?

    https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/achieving-30-by-30

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