Farmers, industry and members of regional communities who took to Perth’s streets in May 2024 are preparing to convoy again today. Photo: Josh Fernandes Studios.
Hundreds of farmers, transport operators and supporters are expected to take to the streets of Perth today to protest against the looming Federal Government live export ban.
ASHEEP & BEEF Chair and Esperance farmer David Vandenberghe said this marked the fourth time in the past year they had rallied on mass in opposition to move.
“It has generally been a rare thing to see farmers and people in our industry pushed to the point that they feel the need to publicly protest,” he said.
“In a 12-month period we’ll now have had four major public protests involving thousands of people. One at Muresk, one in Canberra, and two in Perth.”
“It shows the high level of anger and frustration toward the Albanese Government’s decision to shut down WA’s sheep live export trade and the lack of understanding or consultation in reaching that position.”
Mr Vandenberghe said there were now more than 110,000 signatures on a petition to stop the ban on sheep live exports.
“WA’s sheep industry is seeing huge damage from the shutdown of one of our key markets. Our industry has made a significant investment in reforming the trade over the last decade and Australia now leads the world in best practice standards, but this has been disregarded,” he said.
“I commend the efforts of all the volunteers and supporters involved in the Keep the Sheep campaign for bringing awareness to this issue.”
Mr Vandenberghe said ASHEEP & BEEF was not a political organisation.
“We would like to think that whoever is in power would take the time to properly understand agricultural systems and consult with industry thoroughly before taking a position that will wipe out livelihoods,” he said.
“As such, we continue to urge the federal government to cease their reckless approach to policy setting impacting the WA sheep industry and reverse their decision to shut down the sheep live export trade.”
The ban on live sheep exports by sea is to be enforced from May 1, 2028.
