Imagine what it’s like roasting to death
An Animal Rights Article from All-Creatures.org
By: Jenny Moxham
Published in: The Advertiser - 23 Jan 2014 and submitted to us by the
author.
AFTER recently enduring five days of blistering heat all South Australians
have fresh recollections of how unpleasant extreme temperatures are.
Fortunately most would’ve been able to get some relief by switching on air
conditioners at home or in cars, visiting cooled buildings, and sitting in
cold baths or a pool.
But can you imagine how you’d feel if it got hotter and hotter – and there
was no way for you to cool down?
Can you imagine the terror of being trapped inside a small, cramped pen –
with only inches of head space – in the bowels of a ship where the
temperature was steadily rising higher and higher? Can you imagine roasting
to death?
Well, in The Advertiser (17/1/14) it was revealed that this occurred last
September when 3256 South Australian sheep, along with 923 sheep from
Western Australia, died of the heat on board the Bader III livestock carrier
bound for the United Arab Emirates.
The suffering these sheep would’ve endured before they died cannot even be
imagined.
As heat stress took hold, every breath would have been a struggle and the
sheep would have fought frantically to survive. This tragedy should never
have occurred. On this particular day, it would appear, the temperature and
humidity was even higher than usual.
Incredibly, this same ship was, on January 10, loading sheep in sizzling 43C
in Perth.
Live export transportation, at the best of times, results in the deaths of
thousands of animals each year from illness, heat stress, injury and
starvation but increasingly (mainly due to investigations by Animals Australia) we are
hearing about “incidents” that involve even greater suffering or cruelty.
The most infamous of these was probably the Cormo Express disaster. On
August 20, 2003 Saudi Arabia rejected a shipment of 57,000 Australian
sheep on alleged disease grounds (scabby mouth).
The pitiful sheep languished at sea for 79 days. They had only four inches
of head space and by the end of the three months they were almost waist deep
in excrement.
Above them were more sheep and the urine from the animals above rained
down constantly on those below.
Almost 6000 sheep perished on this voyage before the Howard government
paid $10 million of taxpayers’ money to Eritrea along with 3000 tonnes of
fodder (worth an additional $1 million), to take the remaining animals
aboard the Cormo Express. Clearly, Australian citizens and voters need to decide
whether this trade, so fraught with pain, suffering and “incidents” – should
be allowed to continue.
I say it needs to end before we have any more tragedies.
JENNY MOXHAM IS AN ANIMAL RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER FROM MONBULK, VICTORIA
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