Actions taken by a delegate of the Secretary, July to December 2017

2 August 2017

Emanuel Exports Pty Ltd

The mortality rate for this consignment was 3.76 per cent (2 400 out of 63 804 sheep exported) exceeding the reportable level of 2.0 per cent for sheep voyages of 10 days or greater. There were no cattle mortalities in the 50 cattle exported with this consignment.

For the next consignment on this vessel (in September 2017) Emanuel were required to better address the risks and implement a heat event management plan, including reducing the stocking density by 10 per cent. The mortality rate for this consignment was 0.52 per cent.

The department is reviewing the risks associated with sheep voyages during the highest risk period of July/August and what additional measures may need to be implemented by all exporters to this market at this time of year. This incident is under investigation and will be published on the department’s website once complete.

29 September 2017

Frontier International Northern Pty Ltd (FIN)

The mortality rate for this consignment was 2.89 per cent (6 out of 207 buffalo exported) exceeding the reportable level of 0.5 per cent for cattle and buffalo voyages under 10 days. The mortality rate for cattle on this voyage was 0.14 per cent (3 out of 2 167 cattle exported).

Additional conditions were applied to the next buffalo consignment exported by FIN to Vietnam. These included loading additional sawdust and chaff, increasing the time the buffalo were held in the registered premises before export, and increased scrutiny at selection. This consignment included 92 buffalo with one mortality reported.

FIN has developed and implemented a buffalo management plan for all future buffalo consignments.

This incident is under investigation and will be published on the department’s website once complete.

1 December 2017

Wellard Rural Exports Pty Ltd

The mortality rate for this consignment was 2.26 per cent (19 out of 842 buffalo exported), exceeding the reportable level of 1.0 per cent for cattle and buffalo voyages of 10 days or greater. The mortality rate for cattle on this voyage was 0.12 per cent (4 out of 3 373 cattle exported).

This incident is under investigation and will be published on the department’s website once complete. At this time the department is not aware of any upcoming Wellard buffalo consignments.

In the past two years there have been four reportable buffalo consignments (including the two reported here). The department is reviewing buffalo mortality data with exporters to better identify and address the risks associated with the export of buffalo by sea.