Live cattle exports

I know I'm getting in deep with this one, however, it's worth exploring the real issues.

Australia Resumes live Cattle Exports to Indonesia

Recently, the department of Agriculture suspended live cattle exports due to mistreatment of livestock while waiting for their turn at the abattoir. The department has since allowed exports to happen, provided the exporters can vouch for the animal control measures from the moment it leaves their own stock yard right through until the cattle get the chop.

How is that supposed to be even possible? How is a beef exporter going to have the resources to track and monitor the passage and treatment of stock?

The question is, Who should be responsible for looking after the stock en route to its ultimate destination. Shouldn't couriers and other stock handlers have a duty of care to these animals?

Anyway, since when is it the seller's responsibility to ensure the buyers look after their purchases? If someone legitimately buys a gun and goes on a shooting rampage, is the owner of the gun store responsible for the deaths of the victims? I don't think so. The onus should be on Indonesia to ensure the stock they purchase is correctly looked after in accordance with international animal treatment regulations.

It turns out that whether or not Australia supplies beef to Indonesia, the Indo government wants to down-size their import quota from Australia. They want to be self-sufficient in terms of the food they produce, and that is a good sign for them and their economy. It's not real good for our exporters, who are already struggling with the extremely high value of the Australian dollar against a lot of the world's major currencies eating into their bottom line.

So what to do? It will be very interesting how this one plays out...