AUSTRALIA should pressure its Islamic neighbours to end cruelty in the live cattle trade, a Territory Senator said yesterday.
Nigel Scullion said a review of the trade and bans on live exports was a “cop out”.
“Australia has a significant Muslim population, which relies on our domestic meat trade using halal slaughter practices for its dietary needs,” he said.
“And the most efficient and humane way of slaughtering cattle is by stunning them before further processing.
“We saw from the Four Corners program that abattoirs in parts of Indonesia using stunning devices and cattle are dispatched without overt cruelty in accordance with Islamic law.
“In other areas, local imams have decreed that cattle must be bled out without benefit of stunning. And that causes most of the problem.
“We need a uniform interpretation of Islamic law across the region which takes account of basic animal welfare standards and modern technology.”