MV Bahijah live export fiasco has echoes of 2011 live cattle export ban

The department on 3 February agreed for the animals to be unloaded under strict biosecurity measures. Several hundred head of healthy cattle were initially unloaded to reduce congestion on the ship. The veterinarian on board the vessel indicated there were no significant health or welfare concerns with the remaining livestock, and animal mortality remained below reportable levels (0.5 per cent for cattle, 1 per cent for sheep).

An initial application to send the livestock to the Middle East via the Cape was subsequentlyrefused. A final decision has yet to be made. The livestock are likely to be in the yards for about 10 days to rest before being reloaded onto the MV Bahijah, if a permit is issued. Those in the livestock industry have said that the alternative to re-export is for the animals to quarantine and then end up in a feedlot (which would, they claim, be not dissimilar to conditions on board the ship).

Industry observers believe that the MV Bahijah had to wait for another live export vessel, the Al Messilah, to load sheep before the Bahijah could unload all its livestock. Once the Al Messilah was loaded, there would be space in the Baldivis quarantine and feedlot facility to unload.

The whole saga raises many issues.

Firstly, there is the question of why the ship could not have been diverted to its destination via the Cape without having to return to Australia. Accepted wisdom states that it is unwise to send sheep to the Middle East during the hot northern summer. So why did the Department insist on sending the ship back to Fremantle during its expected heatwave? Arguably, the bureaucratic interference has led to a worse animal welfare outcome. Had the ship been diverted it would have reached its (much cooler) destination by now.

The extreme animal welfare crisis, which many predicted, never eventuated . Two independent veterinarians boarded the ship after it docked. Their report concluded that no major signs of health or environmental concerns for the animals could be detected. It is worth noting that, on its previous (20 day) voyage with 5602 cattle departing Fremantle for Israel on 19 November 2022, there were no mortalities on the Bahijah.

Then there is the political side of the issue. It was the regulator who formally directed the MV Bahijah to turn back to Fremantle, and who later refused re-export. The public face of the regulator was Adam Fennessy, Secretary of the Commonwealth Agriculture Department, who had stated that "I want to emphasise that my department makes decisions on the basis of the application of the commercial exporter".

Agriculture Minister, Murray Watt, emphasised that he was not the legal decision-maker. This is technically correct, though those familiar with how bureaucracies work would know that a public servant would be "courageous" to go against the wishes of a minister or the government. The Labor Party (with support from unions and animal activists) broadly opposes live export, though it is convenient to distance itself and have a bureaucrat take the blame.

Animal activists overseas also played a role. Animal rights groups in Israel say they have filed legal proceedings against the nation's agriculture ministry in a bid to stop the ship from exporting its cargo into Israel. The threat of such action is believed to be a factor in the initial Departmental decision to refuse re-export.

For the exporter the entire episode will probably cost millions (a fruitless return trip to the Middle East and 5 weeks lost time at the very least). Re-export would be the least costly outcome but seems an unlikely prospect. The live export trade has also suffered long term damage because disruptions like this are a bad look, and make Australia appear to be an unreliable trading partner.

Farmers are also big losers. Sheep producers in Western Australia say the decision to phase out live sheep exports has reduced confidence in the WA industry, though poor wool and mutton prices were already biting. Sheep and lamb prices had already plummeted (with a 60 per cent decline commonly quoted over the year to last October). It has been not uncommon for farmers to euthanise some classes of stock (especially light merinos) because there was no return in sending them to market.

This whole saga has shown the left of Australian politics playing its favourite game, namely destroying the wealth of industries they don't like and have no stake in. They seek to do the same with the coal, gas, and nuclear industries, and are broadly hostile to a lot of mining, commercial fishing, and conventional agriculture.

None of this is good for our standard of living.