Vet removed for exposing appalling conditions on live export ships

[MusicMan]

On the Australian news ABC:
Vet removed for exposing appalling conditions on live export ships

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-22/live-export-vet-removed-after-revealing-conditions-on-ships/7501428

It is amazing how it always seems to be the whistleblower that cops the flak, instead of the perps.

 

[Keit]

It is amazing how it always seems to be the whistleblower that cops the flak, instead of the perps.

Well, according to the article, she wasn't actually a whistleblower. Her report was supposed to be confidential, and became public only because her department published it by mistake on their website. Unless someone released it on purpose, because they knew what would be the reaction. And now, of course, she has no choice but to be vocal about her experiences.

Personally, don't think I could work on such a ship for 11 years, if had to witness things that she described happening during every trip. And by the way, all those officials who "are shocked" to see those horrific images, should just take a stroll or two in most of dairy farms. "Swimming" in feces or having horrible hoof problems isn't something unusual for large dairy farms.

 

[WIN 52]

I had the misfortune to board one of these vessels in Vancouver, BC just after the live cargo had been unloaded and before the dead ones were taken out. The conditions were pretty bad, but I have seen similar conditions in many feedlots across Canada.

I was looking at ways to export breeding cattle to China. This method would have been rubber stamped by the CFIA. Instead, I settled on a more humain way to ship the cattle, which required a lot of hoops to jump through for the CFIA. We chose open top containers on a cargo vessel. The shipment went very smoothly till the cattle arrived in China. The cattle were held up in customs and had to sit in the containers, on the dock, in sweltering heat, without water for a whole day. Once the Chinese authorities took control of the export, we did loose a few.

I could never understand how it would be profitable to ship live animals for slaughter in another country. The price Canadian farmers get at the gate for their livestock hasn't changed much in the last 30 years. However, the price consumers pay at the supermarket has more than quadrupled.

As long as Corporations are running the show, expect more of the same!