Filter: australasia
AUSTRALIA: Halal meat converting Aussies - MP
A WA Liberal MP has claimed Australians are unknowingly being converted to Islam by eating Halal meat. In a speech to Parliament yesterday, backbencher Luke Simpkins said most Australians did not know that most of the meat they ate came from animals killed in accordance with Muslim law.
AUSTRALIA: Unstunned slaughter to continue in Australia
Exemptions that allow some Australian abattoirs to conduct ritual slaughters without prior stunning will continue, after the country’s agriculture ministers last week failed to resolve discussions on calls for their withdrawal. Federal, State and Territory agriculture ministers from Australia and New Zealand met in Melbourne last Friday to discuss a range of issues at the 21st meeting of the Primary Industries Ministerial Council. On the agenda were calls by animal welfare groups for exemptions that allow 12 Australian abattoirs to slaughter animals without prior stunning on religious and cultural grounds. In a communiqué released after its meeting, the council said ministers had reviewed the results of a two-year consultation process with stakeholders and had considered the science involved and the views of religious groups.
Filed Under: Slaughtering
MALAYSIA: Mustapa Officiates Makan-Makan Bistro in Perth
Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed took time off from engaging potential investors in Perth to officiate the opening of Makan-Makan Bistro, a Malaysian restaurant located at William Street, Northbridge, Perth. Mustapa is here to attend the Commonwealth Business Forum which is held in conjunction with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). The event was attended by approximately 100 Malaysians based in Perth mainly consisting of undergraduates and postgraduates from the University of Western Australia, Edith Cowen University, Curtin University and Murdoch University as well as Malaysian professionals working in Perth, according to a statement issued.
AUSTRALIA: It’s time for the RSPCA to get real
There aren't too many cattle loaded onto boats from the western Queensland district of Mitchell, but that was no deterrent to AgForce cattle president, Grant Maudsley, who delivered a spirited defence of the live export trade at the recent RSPCA forum. As the last speaker of the day, Mr Maudsley sat through hours of presentations denouncing the trade. He acknowledged RSPCA's charter to protect animals, but called on those in the forum to reconsider their position and protect the livelihoods of Australian families in the far north.
AUSTRALIA: Live shipping and animal welfare
Meat and Livestock Australia is inviting preliminary project proposals for transformational change in the meat industry. Up to $5.75 million in funding is available over five years for increasing cost efficiency and productivity, including adaptability and risk management in the northern beef, southern beef, lamb and sheep meat investment areas, The Australian Financial Review reports. One topic will be development of animal welfare training programs for sheep and cattle in live export markets. "The successful applicant will require sound knowledge of animal welfare, training and the live export destination markets for both sheep and cattle," the MLA documentation specifies.
Filed Under: Livestock; Animal Welfare
AUSTRALIA: ABC and RSPCA in the "Hot Seat" over live cattle
Four Corners reporter, Sarah Ferguson, last week appeared before the Senate standing committee on rural affairs and transport’s inquiry into Australia’s live export market. She was asked about her role in the May 30 program which sparked a temporary halt in the live cattle trade to Indonesia on June 6, along with a fierce national debate about the future of live trade. The month-long ban financially damaged many players in the beef industry across northern Australia. Last week’s hearing revealed several major discrepancies in the way the ABC program was assembled. Ms Ferguson appeared at the hearing with the program’s producer, Michael Doyle, and ABC News’ head of policy and staff development, Alan Sunderland.
AUSTRALIA: The Jewish House & Al-Ghazzali Centre partners in charity drive
Sydney’s The Jewish House has launched its annual drive to collect food for the needy with a record 25 Coles Supermarkets participating across Sydney…and has introduced a new parter, the Al-Ghazzali Centre. The Jewish House’s CEO, Rabbi Mendel Kastel, told J-Wire: “The Centre is very enthusiastic about their involvement. We will also have involvement in the project from Visy, Fairfax and the ANZ Bank. The program used to run for a week to 10 days but Coles have agreed, given its past success, to extend it to three weeks.” The program already works with the Reverend Bill Crews’ Exodus project. The “Yes We Can” campaign encourages shoppers to buy an extra can of food and drop it into boxes at the checkouts. The food is brought to a central warehouse where it is distributed to those in need. Both The Jewish House and the Al-Ghazzali Centre will provide volunteers to man the check-out areas to encourage shoppers to participate. The founder and president of Lakemba’s Al-Ghazzali Centre, Afroz Ali, told J-Wire: “Our centre has three objectives: education, inter-faith projects and active participations in projects like this…especially on an inter-religious basis. We run the Halal food bank as there is a rising number of needy Muslims in the lower social-economic areas. Halal has the same added costs as Kosher over regular food prices. Many cannot afford Halal food and are compelled to follow a vegetarian diet. We work with Barnardo’s, and the Rev Bill Crews’ Exodus project. This ‘Yes We Can’ project with Rabbi Kastel will enable us to get more to the needy.”
AUSTRALIA: Make stunning mandatory - Labor MP
Federal Labor MP Melissa Parke says Australians have the right to feel outraged that taxpayer dollars have been spent on "an investment in animal cruelty in Indonesia". Australia has provided over 100 Mark I boxes to Indonesian abattoirs at a cost of $1 million to taxpayers and another $1 million to industry body Meat and Livestock Australia. But in a report released on Wednesday, Australia's acting chief veterinary officer Mark Schipp found the boxes cause undue injury and distress to cattle, thereby breaching international slaughter standards.
Filed Under: Stunning
AUSTRALIA: Call for meat slaughter method labelling
Australian meat should be labelled according to the slaughtering techniques, a Liberal senator has told parliament. South Australian senator Corey Bernardi told the Senate that many people had been appalled by footage of Australian cattle being processed at Indonesian slaughterhouses. Some might have ethical problems with eating meat slaughtered according to religious rituals in Australia such as Halal or Kosher meat. Senator Bernardi said he wanted labels on packaging to explain whether meat had been slaughtered according to rituals and whether stun guns were used.