I was
brought up by passionate beef farmers, which meant that I ate red meat every
day growing up. Once my parents started breeding cattle, we ate meat that came
from animals that we named and got to know. The footage that Four Corners put
on the screen was disgusting for me to watch because I know cattle, and those
terrified eyes were the eyes of animals that did not deserve to die in that
manner.
But I eat
meat, and will for quite a large portion of my life, and while I understand
(and am secretly quiet excited about the idea) that the tradition of farming
animals for meat will soon become a luxury and then disappear all together,
there is another side to the story. No cattle owning family in Australia wants
to see the cattle they breed and spend every day looking after treated as they
were in the footage on Four Corners. That is not why farmers get into the business,
it is not why they stay in the business and it is not why they work so hard.
So in the
interest of not being hypocritical, I would like to publish this letter,
forwarded to me by my Mum.
It is an
excellent letter. People need to know that if they don't want to eat animals,
they should be vegetarians. And if they are too lazy to be vegetarian and still
hold that animals should magically not die for meat, they need to look openly
at what killing an animal means. You have to know the price of the decisions
you make.
The price
applies to everything, the China Price of the components that make up the Mac I
am typing on, the political and economic freedom I enjoy as an Australian woman
that is not even conceivable to most of the women of this planet. A society is
judged by how they treat those they can legitimately exploit under the current
economic and political systems – animals, women, those who work in service and
manufacturing, indigenous populations. Humans cannot survive without
exploitation, but when we exploit, we should be able to look it in the face for
what it is.
Dear
Sir,
I must
introduce myself. My name is Scot Braithwaite and my life has basically
revolved around live export since I was 10 years old. I was unloading cattle
boats in Malaysia at the age of 13. I have worked for all the major cattle
companies including as a Head Stockman in the Northern Territory. I have a
degree in economics from the Queensland University and I personally have sold
more than 1.5 million head of cattle into Indonesia since 1991. I am presently
employed as the marketing manager for Wellard rural exports.
I am
writing to you after the Monday program to say that although I abhor the
treatment of the animals shown in the video, your one sided approach to the
subject and the possible effect of that of a ban on live exports is too big a
price to pay for a report based on the evidence of an organization that’s
charter is to shut us down. I have the following points to make. I would like
to have the same time as those who denigrated my life to show you the other
side of our industry. To show you what is really going on. In Australia there
used to be thing about “A fair Go”. You have gone with images provided by one
person followed up by your investigative journalist who spent a week in
Indonesia. Your report makes out that close to 100% of Australian cattle are
treated as was shown on TV.
1 the
ship that appears in the footage “for less than 30 seconds” is a vessel that
cost tens of millions of dollars to build. We have had 3 separate media groups
sail with this ship and it can in no uncertain terms be described as best in
class. The Wellard group has another 3 vessels of the same standard with
another 2 being built in China. This is a total investment of 400 million
dollars to ensure that livestock exports from Australia are undertaken at the
utmost levels of cow comfort and animal welfare.
2 the
feedlot that was filmed was given a 10 second view. This feedlot is without a
doubt world class. Your viewers should have at least had the opportunity to
view large numbers of cattle eating and sleeping comfortably in a fantastic
facility. This company has in addition moved to kill all his cattle through
stunning system that he has control of. This owner has spent 20 years of his
life in the industry, has built his business from nothing, has done all that is
required of him from an animal welfare point of view yet your reporter makes no
mention of these things.
3 within
A 3 HOUR DRIVE OR a 15 Minute helicopter there are another 3 world class
facilities. All three feedlots including the one filmed, are at, or better
than, what can be found in Australia. The cattle being fed, and the ration
being fed, leads to a lot less animal health issues then a similar size
operation in Australia.
One of
these facilities is operated and owned by a large Australian pastoral house.
They had no mention in your supposed unbiased report. The operation is run by a
North Queensland man who, through His absolute dedication to excellence has
built a feedlot and slaughtering system that his company, the industry and
himself can be very proud of. The system is closed, all the cattle are already killed
through their own abattoir. They import 20 to 25000 cattle year. They have been
doing this for at least 5 years.
Why
should they be shut down? For what reason could anyone justify closing this
operation down, especially without even bothering to look at what goes on.
4 the
other world class feedlots that could have been investigated with a 3 hour ride
in the car are owned by a large publicly listed Indonesian company. In all,
they have on feed 50,000 cattle and import about 120,000 cattle a year. They
have recently built an abattoir( the one that was briefly shown on the program)
They built this 2 years ago as they knew that modern methods must come to
Indonesia and they were willing to make the investment to make it happen.
The
total investment from these 3 feedlotters alone in infrastructure and stock is
over 100 million dollars. Add to that the hundreds of millions that Wellard
have recently invested in ships and do you really believe that these people
would leave the final product to a murderous bastard with a blunt knife? They
not only have tried to ensure the welfare of the animal but have made
investments to make the changes all along the chain. These people deserve to
have their side of the story heard. If the system is not perfect, and it isn’t,
they have the wherewithal and the incentive to make it happen in a very short
time.
These 3
importers who have shown a commitment to everything good about animal
production, handle 45 % of total imports.
The
other major issue that was not covered was the social responsibility that all
feedlotters in Indonesia practice. Their operations are in relatively isolated
poor areas; the feedlots provide employment opportunity, advancement through effort, and a market
for thousands of tons of feedstuffs grown for the cattle. My understanding is
that 8000 people are directly employed by the feedlots and over 1000000 people
are reliant on the regular income made from supplying corn silage and other
feedstuffs. This is not made up, it is fact. It can be easily checked. I will
bet my 1000000 farmers against the 1000000 signatures on the ban order. It is
very easy to sit in your comfortable chair and criticize but is it really worth
the human cost to ban something that can be fixed and fixed reasonable quickly?
That is
Sumatra.
In JKT
there is the largest privately owned abattoir that kills about 4 to 6000 heads
a month. It is a well run facility that has no welfare issues. In addition it
was working on getting a stun system in place well before the 4 corners report. No photos from here, yet this is
another who has been doing the right thing and who will lose his business if
the trade is banned.
The
largest Importer in to Jakarta, has also built a slaughter facility in the past
12 months. It has not been commissioned yet but can be made ready within a
month. They also have a private bone to pick with the program. AS was not
reported in the show, abattoirs in Indonesia are operated by any number of
individual ‘Wholesalers”. They control the space and the manpower kills their
number for the night and then hand over to the next team. In any one night 8 to
10 separate operators can be using the same facility. In the case of the
footage of the head slapping the camera panned to the cattle waiting and the
tags of AA, Newcastle Waters and his company were made very prominent. Yes,
they were there but the team that handled was different to one being filmed.
They protest, that their crews are well trained, no head slapping occurs and
very large and sharp knives are used to ensure a bloody but quick end. I have
no reason to doubt them because I have seen a lot of their cattle handled at
point of slaughter and their crews are well trained with immediate results.
Where can their case be heard?
I have
watched literally thousands of cattle slaughtered in the boxes in Indonesia.
Yes there are problems, as there are at every point of slaughter on every type
of animal in the world, but 98% of the cattle I watched killed was quick and
without fuss. Why is there not one shot of what happens 98% of the time? The shots of outright cruelty are
totally unacceptable and the slaughter of cattle is still gruesome and
confronting but is not as prevalent as portrayed in your report. Yes it does
some times happen but it is the exception not the rule. And we are already
taking steps to improve the system and we have the ability to ensure all
animals are stunned in a very short time.
Yes
there are a couple of operators who in the short term will not be able to
handle the new way. But they will be dropped, no commitment to stunning, no
supply. No negotiation. There are also a number of operators privately owned
who were, to all intents and purposes, doing the right thing. They were asked
to supply through the boxes and they have. They will be asked to only supply
though a stunning FACILITY and they will. They have far too much invested in
the whole industry over many years to not do as we ask.
I am
asking for a fair go. You have been expertly manipulated. Hear the actual other
side of the story let the Australian public see both sides. I am happy to make
all the arrangements. This is too important to let sit with the images you
portrayed on Monday without recourse.
Scot
Braithwaite
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