We've worked day and night to try to help
these sheep.

Crisis situation

Department of Agriculture investigating alleged abuse of sheep in Oman.

The Sydney Morning Herald
27 June 2023

John, this time last week we stood in front of a Federal Court Judge to request an urgent trial in a final desperate attempt to force action to help Australian sheep in Oman.

We've now lodged six legal complaints with the Commonwealth regulator showing more than a thousand animals being illegally offered for sale and slaughter for the imminent Festival of Sacrifice.

While we were granted a trial, it became clear that time had run out for these animals. A month of regulator and exporter inaction had already sealed their fate.

This damning situation has been exposed in national media today.

We've now exhausted every legal avenue to help these animals. And John, I promise you, we've left no stone unturned.

But we're not going anywhere. We will continue to police this industry. And we will use the refusal of export companies to follow the rules to secure the fastest phase-out of the live sheep trade.

The importance of our investigations and work on behalf of the victims of live export has never been more evident. Any support you can provide to keep fuelling these efforts will be put to immediate use.

That the regulator would not even have known about the collapse of ESCAS in Oman were it not for Animals Australia, speaks to the futility of this system, and why the trade needs to be concluded as soon as possible.

LYN WHITE
Director of Strategy, Animals Australia

It shouldn't take a court process to force a government regulator to do its job.

It shouldn't be left to a charity to police wealthy export companies.

And it shouldn't be up to members of the community to fund these efforts - to put us in the courtroom or in the field - to be anywhere that animals need us.

But without us - without you John - the victims of this trade would have nobody looking out for them.

This is why we must humbly ask once again for your help to sustain this critical work on behalf of animals.

John, until the Albanese government follows through on its commitment to end live sheep export – we have no choice but to remain the watchdog of this industry. To mitigate suffering where we can and to ensure that no animal suffers in vain.

And importantly, to do everything we can to bring closer the day that Australia celebrates the end of the live sheep trade.

For the animals,