Appalling treatment of sheep during shearing

[LPC]

There has been a recent exposure of appalling cruelty by sheep shearers during the shearing of sheep in Australia. Sheep were punched, kicked, thrown on the floor, stamped on, hit with electric shears and thrown down a chute. The article is here:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/ju...estigation

You do not have to click on the video, unless you choose to do so, on the page. You can read the text without clicking, if you are easily upset. The article deserves to be read, however. The video is unpleasant to watch, but it is only by such material being made public that anything will be done.

Now for the amazing part! Barnaby Joyce, the federal agriculture minister, instead of condemning what went on and vowing to prosecute, was more interested in finding out how the video was taken and whether the people committing the cruel acts had given their permission for filming! Apparently he is in favour of "Ag Gag" - meaning it should be illegal to film cruelty without permission. The Victorian government has, apparently, already made it illegal for "whistle blowers" to film cruelty. I would give them a medal for bravery!

I had a flock of sheep for many years and we always did the shearing ourselves, without rushing. The sheep knew us, and we knew them. Even a superficial cut was extremely rare and was treated immediately. The shearing was done merely for their own comfort, to avoid them getting overheated in the summer.

The trouble is, sheep have a low commercial value so they are regarded as expendible, even by the farmers. Above all, welfare is not important to shearers, as they are paid by productivity, not per hour. That makes them rush at a crazy pace, punching, kicking, etc. An appalling situation.

[Tobi]

This is so heartbreaking and sad. I honestly could not watch the video but read all the details.
What I cannot understand is this:
"A spokeswoman for the RSPCA confirmed it was investigating whether the video shows breaches of animal welfare laws, but would not put a timeframe on these deliberations."

Especially bearing in mind this:
“The vision made publicly available by Peta overnight shows sheep being beaten with shearing handpieces and thrown down a chute,” the RSPCA said.

Whether the video shows breaches of animal welfare laws?? Dear Lord!

This cruel abuse of these gentle sheep is just horrific. Those "ag-gag" laws need to be broken right good-and-proper. By as many people as possible starting right now!
Fortunately, what I know and have heard of animal welfare activists they have steel for bones, and will not shut up.

Is there a petition around concerning not only the widespread abuse in sheep-shearing, but those actual laws?

[Catherine]

Appalling cruelty.
The stupid thing is that the shearing takes longer because they are so cruel. If they worked quietly and gently with the sheep I am sure it would go better.
They put so much energy into abusing the sheep. When a man continues to throw a sheep around after he has finished shearing her, it is not about controlling the sheep so they can do the job. Clearly these workers hate sheep and enjoy violence. It would be interesting to film their home lives. How do they treat their wives and children.

Speaking of which, they compare the filming to a break-in. That only works if you are talking about breaking into the home of a child abuser and filming him as he beats his kids. Should the law protect someone's privacy then. Also there is no expectation of privacy in a work place like that.
How can that many workers not object? They are all guilty of animal abuse. The whole industry is rotten.

I realize that there has to be an investigation. Proper procedures must be followed, but there should be no question that this is abuse. The only question should be who gets charged with what. Some of the abusers are more cruel and deserve worse penalties.

Doesn't anyone notice the bad shape the sheep are in after shearing.

[Knight of Albion]

One gets the feeling that, much like with live exports, animal welfare is taking a back seat due to the financial revenues involved ...

[Catherine]

Quote:One gets the feeling that, much like with live exports, animal welfare is taking a back seat due to the financial revenues involved ...

I hate to think that this is true, but it does explain a lot. You don't bite the hand that feeds you, not if you want to get fed again. It does matter where funding comes from. That must be why it is private groups that are fighting animal cruelty.

[LPC]

Australia accounts for one quarter of all wool exports and 50% of merino wool - see http://www.nff.org.au/commodities-wool.html and http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/...&num=&view=

So clearly there are important implications for the Australian economy. That is why the government there is bringing in "AG-Gag" laws to prevent cruelty being filmed. It also explains why the federal agricultural minister was unwilling to investigate the people shown committing these acts of violence against the sheep. He only wanted to catch the people who had filmed the cruelty!

BTW this is not an anti-Australian thread. Cruelty during shearing exists also in many other countries. I am opposed to cruelty against sheep in any country of the world, especially as they are such gentle creatures.

[Catherine]

Quote:BTW this is not an anti-Australian thread. Cruelty during shearing exists also in many other countries. I am opposed to cruelty against sheep in any country of the world, especially as they are such gentle creatures.

I assumed that this behavior was a global industry standard or rather lack of standards.
It is just that the Australian animal rights people are well organized and fearless. It is the same with the baby chick cruelty expose in Canada. Other countries are just as bad, but we have some incredible animal rights activists.

When your economy is linked to wool production, the last thing you want is for people to see how that wool is obtained. If money is your only standard then the Ag Gag laws make sense. How sad that there are people who are so ruled by money that they will overlook such cruelty. We could pity them if it were not for the fact that they condone a systemic cruelty towards animals.
Where is Karma when you need it.

[LPC]

(07-16-2014, 12:39 PM)Catherine Wrote: Where is Karma when you need it.

Karma has their number, as Knight would say!

[Catherine]

Quote:Karma has their number, as Knight would say!

I sure hope so. There is no statute of limitations on Karma.
If things ever really change and I hope they do, those who supported the cruelty will not be in a good situation.
Cruel people are sick, but what are people who know about cruelty and do nothing or worse protect it. They are evil.