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February 29th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda The federal government is being urged to respond sensibly to new claims slaughter practices at two Indonesian abattoirs breach its new regime to protect Australian cattle.
Agriculture department officials are investigating the allegations to establish if the cattle were Australian and whether the slaughterhouses were part of the government’s approved supply chain monitoring regime.
Footage showing workers slitting the throats of cattle without stunning them first at two separate Jakarta slaughterhouses was aired by the ABC Television on Tuesday.
Workers were seen cutting animals up while they were still alive.
Remedial action would be taken if the investigation revealed the supply chain was in breach of new regulations, Agriculture Minister Joe Ludwig said on Wednesday.
“In instances where they are beyond the pale, (the regulator will) take very strong action,” he told ABC Radio.
Exporters are concerned about the possible ramifications for the local cattle industry.
Last year, live cattle exports to Indonesia were banned for one month in the wake of other footage showing cruel treatment of cattle.
The Cattle Council of Australia said there was no need to punish the entire industry because the offending abattoirs could be isolated.
“It’s vital that we keep this industry operating on a profitable basis for the northern Australia meat industry,” council vice-president Peter Hall said.
Country Liberals Senator Nigel Scullion, who represents the Northern Territory where much of the cattle industry is based, said the department must be allowed to complete its investigation without the influence of “hysterical” Greens and animal activists.
“It is up to the government process to investigate these allegations and apply the appropriate compliance action if the footage is current and Australian cattle are involved,” he said in a statement.
“Cattlemen, workers including many indigenous people and businesses associated with the live cattle industry are praying for a sensible response from this government.”
Australian Greens senator Lee Rhiannon said the only way to end cruel slaughter practices was to ban the live animal export trade.
“We don’t have confidence in the present system,” she told ABC Television on Wednesday.
Senator Rhiannon claimed a total ban would not cause economic harm in Australia because it would result in the reopening of local abattoirs.
About 40,000 meat industry jobs have been lost since the 1980s, when abattoirs closed because of the live export trade.
“So the economic benefits can come back to Australia,” Senator Rhiannon said.
Live Exports Council chief executive Alison Penfold dismissed the senator’s comments as naive, although she said the footage was distressing.
Ms Penfold said the live export industry had been an important part of Australia’s agricultural sector for more than a century, and that she believed new regulations governing live exports were working.
There was a process to identify, isolate and fix any activities that did not meet the standards of the new regulatory framework.
The industry would take action if an investigation found this was necessary, she told ABC Radio.
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