Pakistan resumes cull of 'diseased' Australian sheep.
Pakistan has resumed culling a shipment of Australian sheep stranded in the port city of Karachi following a dispute over whether the animals are fit for human consumption.
The sheep had been turned away from Bahrain after authorities said
the flock of 28,600 carried disease.
Photo: Pakistan officials have ordered the sheep being kept near Karachi be slaughtered (AFP: Asif Hassan) When they arrived in Karachi, authorities there also claimed testing showed the sheep were contaminated and ordered the destruction of the animals.
A court order halted the cull after the deaths of 7,600 sheep and an independent test carried out in Britain showed the flock to be disease-free.
But Karachi authorities have rejected these tests and resumed the cull.
It is expected to take two to three days to complete.
A spokesman said the Australian High Commission in Islamabad was shocked by the move.
On Thursday, Australian High Commissioner Peter Heyward had issued a statement welcoming a settlement which he said would allow the sheep to be processed as intended after independent tests confirmed the animals were fit for human consumption.
The incident has renewed calls for a total end to Australia's live export trade, which is worth about $1 billion a year and employs around 10,000 people.
Australia suspended live cattle exports to Indonesia for a month last year after a Four Corners documentary revealed mistreatment inside its abattoirs, only reinstating the trade under a strict new licensing system.
ABC/AFP By South Asia correspondent
Michael Edwards, wires Updated Sat Oct 20, 2012 9:23am AEDT
