Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Animals Australia investigations revealed last year that greyhound industry participants have been exporting unwanted dogs to appalling conditions in South-East Asia. I wrote to Prime Minister Turnbull seeking his intervention and action on this matter because the minister responsible, Minister Joyce, has been unwilling to tackle this problem despite the fact the industry's leadership shares community concern about the welfare of the dogs languishing in shocking conditions. Minister Joyce has refused to meet with the industry to discuss better welfare outcomes for greyhounds.

The reply from the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister was not good enough. The government refuses to act by claiming that under international law it cannot dictate animal welfare standards adopted in other countries. But the government can certainly do something domestically, preventing these greyhounds from ever leaving Australia when the welfare standards in the recipient nations are inadequate. It could introduce an amendment to the Export Control (Animals Order) 2004 that would make it mandatory for a 'passport' to be obtained from industry regulators before any greyhound could be exported. This would prevent the export of greyhounds to countries that do not meet suitable welfare standards. It would also be in line with federal government policy regarding all livestock exports.

Minister Joyce claims that, if a 'passport' requirement were introduced, once the greyhound arrived at its destination country the government would have no control over the animal or ability to prevent export to a third country. This misses the point. The intention and outcome of rolling out mandatory passports under the export control order is to prevent the export, in the first place, of greyhounds to countries where their welfare will be compromised. There is currently an industry suspension in place to Macau and China due to serious welfare concerns. However, as the passport system is not legally enforceable, dogs continue to flow into these countries, in breach of the industry's rules and expectations. Greyhound owners have been selling their dogs for export, with new shipments of dogs arriving in Macau most months.

Animals Australia investigators captured world-first vision of the living conditions for dogs at Macau's notorious Canidrome, where some 700 Australian greyhounds live onsite:

In effect, 700 Australian dogs live on death row in the Canidrome. Every dog there will be dead within 3 years. Whilst alive, their lives are miserable. Minimal exercise, minimal social interaction and a tiny barren cell to live in.

An industry report estimates that up to 40 per cent of dogs are killed each year as a result of injuries sustained on the hard track. At a wild animal tourist park in Shanghai, Australian dogs are kept in concrete cells in 'solitary confinement'. They race on a track where other animals including cougars, ostriches and camels are also forced to compete in front of crowds. The    track is totally inappropriate for dog racing, so the injury rate is high. Animals Australia has revealed:

The footage out of Shanghai is terribly sad. The dogs are obviously in great distress, you can see them biting bars, barking constantly. It is a completely unacceptable environment for an animal bred to crave human companionship.

No less than 72 Australian greyhound owners and trainers have been implicated in exporting greyhounds to Macau and China, in blatant defiance of industry rules. It is an Australian government responsibility to oversee the export process. Minister Joyce cannot baulk at this by saying further reform to pre-export controls must be supported by associated regulation at a state and territory level. Pre-export controls, and in fact the entire export process, is a Commonwealth jurisdiction. In the current export process, all of the paperwork, health checks et cetera are facilitated through the relevant Commonwealth government department and it is an Australian government approved vet that is required to carry out the health checks and sign-offs under the process. ESCAS is a prime example of an amendment made to the Export Control (Animals) Order 2004 as a result of the Indonesian live cattle scandal in 2011, which rolled out an entire supply chain traceability system above and beyond issuing permits and health certificates. If the major amendments to the order for ESCAS were possible, then amending the order to require an additional document—a passport—to be lodged in order to acquire a permit is achievable.

It is high time the government cracked down on rogue operators. It is incumbent on the agriculture minister, Mr Joyce, to support regulatory amendments that will prevent greyhounds being exported to countries with inappropriate welfare standards—a call echoed by the industry's own peak body, Greyhounds Australasia. The idea kicking around today that the National Party might make Minister Joyce, who has displayed a cavalier, nonchalant, studied indifference to animal welfare, their next leader will be very distressing to many ordinary Australians who cannot stomach that he might profit politically from his indifference.