According to a maritime source, if the inspections yielded no negative results, the Al Shuwaikh would get the go ahead to load and leave. This could not be confirmed by the NSPCA on Friday.
Ban Animal Trading (Bat) co-director, Prathna Singh said: “We know for a fact, based on investigations and first-hand accounts, that animals shipped on these carriers to the Middle East endure immense torture and suffering.
“We expect that relevant authorities will conduct thorough inspections and to prevent our animals from being subjected to the horrors of the live export industry.”
She said the organisation urged the public to extend their outrage to the live export industry as a whole, not just the Al Shuwaikh. Singh told DispatchLIVE: “This abuse is the norm, not an exception.”
Local Bat representative Elizabeth Kahn said: “We are horrified that the ship is ready to board 60,000 sheep. We live in hope that an inspection will have a negative result and the shipment is stopped.”
The Eastern Cape Development Agency (ECDC) head of trade, investment and innovation, Thabo Shenxane, said the deal between Al Mawashi, a Kuwaiti importer and South Africa, would provide a constant market for livestock farmers in the province and would lead to sustainable job creation.
He said the ECDC was a facilitator of the deal, which was worth R120m, and would open the gate for consignments of mainly Eastern Cape livestock every three months until the end of the 2019-2020 financial year. He said the deal was valued at R600m.
Shenxane said: “From 2020-21, the frequency of the exports is expected to increase to a two-month cycle which will take the value of the deal to R1.2bn a year.”
A press briefing set to take place at the local Al Mawashi head offices in East London on Friday afternoon was postponed.
MadeleineC@dispatch.co.za
Sheep ship docks in EL port
Controversial live sheep carrier, the Al Shuwaikh entered East London port at 11am on Friday.
Guided by two tugboats, the vessel carried the business hopes of Eastern Cape merino farmers who stand to earn a wholesome cut of the R120m value of 60,000 live merino sheep which will be loaded soon.
However, animal cruelty activists have watched the arrival of the ship with dismay. In Australia, live animal exports to the Middle East between June and September have been banned in Australia due to high temperatures.
Local animal rights activists have hoped that the Al Shukwaikh shipment from South Africa would meet the same fate.
Al Shuwaikh will sail for Kuwait as soon as water, fodder and the sheep are loaded and government gives its approval.
DispatchLIVE stood on the end of the Orient Pier and watched the massive ship slide by.
Eastern Cape rural development and agrarian reform spokesman Ayongezwa Lungisa said they sent officials to assess the vessel to see if allegations of stock death whilst in transit were true. “Until we receive the report the department will not be in a position to comment.”
Huge Merino flock being kept in Berlin prior to shipment
According to a maritime source, if the inspections yielded no negative results, the Al Shuwaikh would get the go ahead to load and leave. This could not be confirmed by the NSPCA on Friday.
Ban Animal Trading (Bat) co-director, Prathna Singh said: “We know for a fact, based on investigations and first-hand accounts, that animals shipped on these carriers to the Middle East endure immense torture and suffering.
“We expect that relevant authorities will conduct thorough inspections and to prevent our animals from being subjected to the horrors of the live export industry.”
She said the organisation urged the public to extend their outrage to the live export industry as a whole, not just the Al Shuwaikh. Singh told DispatchLIVE: “This abuse is the norm, not an exception.”
Local Bat representative Elizabeth Kahn said: “We are horrified that the ship is ready to board 60,000 sheep. We live in hope that an inspection will have a negative result and the shipment is stopped.”
The Eastern Cape Development Agency (ECDC) head of trade, investment and innovation, Thabo Shenxane, said the deal between Al Mawashi, a Kuwaiti importer and South Africa, would provide a constant market for livestock farmers in the province and would lead to sustainable job creation.
He said the ECDC was a facilitator of the deal, which was worth R120m, and would open the gate for consignments of mainly Eastern Cape livestock every three months until the end of the 2019-2020 financial year. He said the deal was valued at R600m.
Shenxane said: “From 2020-21, the frequency of the exports is expected to increase to a two-month cycle which will take the value of the deal to R1.2bn a year.”
A press briefing set to take place at the local Al Mawashi head offices in East London on Friday afternoon was postponed.
MadeleineC@dispatch.co.za
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