Prime ministers discuss Australia-Pakistan sheep row
09/11/2012
Pakistani officials said they had culled the sheep for animal health reasons, but Australia has insisted the animals were in good health and that the meat could have been sold to consumers without any problem.
The two prime ministers met at a wider meeting of government leaders from Asia and Europe in Vientiane, Laos, on November 6. Ms Gillard said at a press conference later that she had decided to raise the matter of the sheep after what she called “graphic and very cruel images” of the slaughter were shown on Australian television.
She said: “I explained to him that Australians are distressed to see these acts of cruelty and that I wanted the matter investigated. He responded that he would investigate this culling of Australian sheep which has been done in circumstances that rightly distress Australians.”
Ms Gillard said her government wants the Australian livestock export sector to be “a sustainable industry, with appropriate standards for animal welfare”. There have been calls in the Australian media for livestock companies to end the practice of exporting live animals and for slaughter to take place on home soil.
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