Letter from an ex Arabian Gulf oil rig worker.
This is an excerpt from the full letter….
10th August 2003
To those with a conscience
The Live sheep and animal trade
Every time I see a truckload of animals heading for Fremantle, I feel
ashamed to be an Australian! These animals are leaving Australia at this
time of year in the middle of winter. When they get to their destination
it will be in the middle of the Northern Summer where temperatures of
40 + degrees are normal.
Humans with the benefit of air conditioning cannot readily acclimatise,
humans can bitch and moan and get better conditions, the poor old sheep
just has to stand and take what comes.
Even though they mainly rely on us for their protection, and have probably
done more for the prosperity of Australia than any other animal, they
are regarded as simply a means of making a quick dollar.
There are not many people that have travelled with these animals that
are solely concerned for their welfare, so that all anyone has to go by
are the reports by the vested interest of this vile trade.
I worked in the Arabian Gulf on an offshore drilling rig for many years
and have seen these ships carrying these sheep go past on a regular basis.
You can smell these ships long before they come over the horizon, and
for days afterward dead sheep would be floating past the rig, this is
because the tide runs in a circular motion.
We could not understand why there were so many sheep tossed into the
sea on a single day, until we saw a couple of them trying to swim, then
we realised that this must have been the final clearout of those animals
that would not have passed inspection, or would have died before sale.
Rather than kill them and carry them to the side of the ship, they must
have made them walk to the ships side and just pushed them overboard.
Unless you have lived in the Middle East, you can have no comprehension
of the people or customs or conditions that exist in that area.
To say that you have to send sheep live because there is no refrigeration
is absolute bullshit. There are supermarkets there just as there are here,
and they sell frozen meat of every description.
I have seen an animal killed in the back streets of one of these countries
and it was not a pretty sight. I only saw one and do not wish to see another.
That poor sheep was being skinned with its throat only half cut, hanging
up by its heels. The fate of some of these animals can only be described
as being horrific.
There is no way that anyone with any sense of decency could ever condone
the live animal trade! Not only is it cruel beyond belief, it is also
economic stupidity. The fate that falls to some of these animals is indescribable
and horrific.
NB: The letter was signed and the author provided his
address and contact number.
We have been granted permission to use this letter
in all or in part.
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