Hundreds of cattle on live export ship to be offloaded at Fremantle while re-export decision still up in air

Hundreds of cattle on board the live export ship that spent nearly a month at sea will be offloaded at Fremantle while the Agriculture Department decides whether the rest of the stock can be re-exported. The MV Bahijah with up to 15,000 sheep and around 2000 cattle on board was ordered by the Department to turn back to Fremantle last month due to rising tensions in the Red Sea. It had been at sea since January 5 before arriving back in Australia on Monday with no plan in place regarding what to do with the animals on the vessel. “The exporter has requested permission to unload several hundred healthy cattle from the MV Bahijah,” the Department released in a statement late on Friday. “The Department has agreed for the animals to be unloaded under strict biosecurity measures. This action is unrelated to the potential re-export of the remaining animals on the vessel.” It’s unclear when the cattle will be coming off the ship and where they will be taken. The Department is currently assessing an application by the exporter — Bassem Dabbah Shipping — requesting it re-take the stock to the Middle East. The exporter submitted its application for re-export on January 26 with the Department considering export legislation, animal welfare conditions and the requirements of international trading partners. “It is a complex process, and this is a unique situation. We are doing everything we can to resolve the situation,” Department secretary Adam Fennessy said. “There should be no doubt that Australia’s biosecurity and the health and welfare of the livestock on board are our highest priorities.” The West Australian understands some animals need to be offloaded due to overstocking reasons to make the longer 33-day route to Israel around Africa to avoid the Houthis rebel attacks. Cattle do not fair as well as sheep for long distances. The boat docked at Fremantle Port on Thursday to restock supplies before returning offshore to undergo routine cleaning, including washing the relevant decks and replacing the animal bedding. It did the same on Friday by replenishing the ship vessel with food and fuel. Questions have been raised over the Department’s handling of the ship’s return with farmers in WA calling for Agriculture Minister Murray Watt to resign. A spokesman for Senator Watt said it would be illegal for the Minister to get involved under the Export Control Act 2020. Meanwhile, animal activists have been calling for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to bring his plan to phase out the live sheep export trade forward over concerns about the welfare of the stock on board. The Department said there were “no significant animal health or welfare issues”. Fremantle MP Josh Wilson said he was “looking forward to Labor delivering on its commitment to bring the industry to an end”, arguing it had been in “serious decline for 20 years”. National Farmers’ Federation President, David Jochinke said: “Australian producers place the utmost importance on the welfare of animals, and Australia holds the highest standard of welfare both at home and in the export markets and this situation demonstrates just how this works in practice.”