A picture that has appeared on media screens will shock many Australian viewers. It shows a man with a sledge hammer poised above his head standing in front of a cow and the obvious inference is that the cow will be dealt a blow to the head to cause its death. Accompanying headlines scream " Cruelty " - and so far this has resulted in live cattle exports to some provincial abattoirs in Vietnam being suspended.
We have a very active animal rights group with the intention of stopping the live export of cattle from this country and they deploy activists who try to obtain pictures of what they consider cruel practices in the slaughter and handling of Australian export cattle. Scenes that horrified Australian viewers resulted in live exports to Indonesia coming to a halt for several months and there have been incidents of Middle Eastern culture that some people consider improper.
Many ordinary Australians have misgivings about live cattle exports. Seeing animals herded onto crowded ships is unsettling and there is a preference here for that meat to be processed in Australia and sent overseas in frozen form. Unfortunately, that is not practical because the receiving countries lack refrigeration in most villages and in the tropics live animals need to be slaughtered, butchered and the meat eaten in the same day.
There certainly have been incidents recorded where abattoir workers have been needlessly cruel in the handling of cattle and individual abattoirs have been denied supply until improvements have been both put in place and verified. Unfortunately, animal slaughter is an unpleasant necessity and an infiltrator waiting with a camera will undoubtedly manage to find scenes that cause anguish to squeamish minds.
Perhaps we need to think long and hard about this picture from Vietnam. In Australian abattoirs the killing process calls for the cattle to be stunned by a massive electrical shock. A typical Australian abattoir handles hundreds of cattle a day and that very expensive equipment is both legally required and warranted. Many provincial Vietnamese abattoirs are not even on the electrical grid - and in reality that blow on the head with a sledge hammer delivers a similar result.
We are equally revulsed when animals are killed by having their throats slit, and yet that has been the traditional method of butchering the family dinner since biblical days. Cutting the jugular vein ensures the animal fast loses consciousness and yet it is a form of death we abhor. The animal rights people label it " cruel " !
The live export of cattle and sheep is an important Australian industry and we certainly insist that standards are maintained, but it is just too easy to apply double standards. Here in Australia many country properties butcher a cow and several sheep for meat for their household and employees.Sometimes a cow is shot to achieve death. Usually sheep have their throat slit. Poultry - have their heads chopped off. That is a fact of life which has existed from well before Federation.
That picture from Vietnam that horrifies so many people and has them calling for a ban on live exports needs a little more thought. Animal death is a necessity in an abattoir and because of the lack of electricity for refrigeration, many village abattoirs are widely scattered and process only small numbers of animals. The question of how death is achieved needs to be considered in that context.
A reasonable person may consider that delivering a blow to a cows head with a sledge hammer would produce a very similar outcome to that electrical shock delivered in our abattoir system. We would be wise not to rush to judgement - without considering the practical aspect !
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