Live exports review: animal welfare groups criticise vet's appointment

Animal welfare organisations have indicated that they are concerned about a perceived conflict of interest of a veterinarian appointed to conduct a review into conditions experienced by sheep on live export ships during the Middle Eastern summer.

Dr Michael McCarthy was appointed by the agriculture minister, David Littleproud, to conduct the review on 10 April, two days after 60 Minutes aired footage of sheep suffering extreme distress on the Emanuel Exports stocked ship Awassi Express, which left Fremantle on 1 August 2017 and lost 2,400 sheep to heat stress.

McCarthy has more than 30 years experience as a livestock veterinarian and has worked most of his career in the live export trade.
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He has acted as shipboard veterinarian on 65 live export voyages for eight major Australian exporters, including Emanuel Exports, conducted industry-funded research for Meat and Livestock Australia and Livecorp, and acted as an expert consultant for Murdoch University and the University of Queensland.

Animal welfare groups say McCarthy is extremely knowledgeable about the industry but his extensive working history as a paid contractor to the live export industry created a perceived conflict of interest.

The RSPCA, Animals Australia and Vets Against Live Export (VALE) wrote separately to Littleproud raising concerns about McCarthy's appointment.

VALE spokeswoman Sue Foster said McCarthy was a well-published researcher who had made recommendations for change in the past, although those recommendations had not been taken up by the industry.

But she said his extensive work history with key live exporters, including Emanuel Exports, whose conduct sparked the review, created a possible conflict of interest.

"VALE has concerns about the independence of the review given the long-term association and employment that vet has in the live export industry," Foster told Guardian Australia.

The RSPCA said it did not questions McCarthy's scientific credentials but said "we were surprised that they had appointed someone who was so reliant on industry funding".

Animals Australia said the review should have been co-chaired by Australia's chief veterinary officer.

McCarthy declined to comment when contacted by Guardian Australia.

Littleproud said McCarthy's review would be "absolutely independent".

"Animal welfare groups regularly cite Dr McCarthy's research in their arguments and some were consulted prior to him being consulted," Littleproud said, adding that McCarthy would consult with animal welfare organisations as part of the review.

"Appointing a vet who had never had any involvement with live export to perform a review of conditions on live export boats would be a ridiculous waste of taxpayer money.

"The reviews I've ordered after being in the job just three months will be done by eminent and fiercely independent people."
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Neither Animals Australia, nor the RSPCA, nor VALE said they were consulted specifically about McCarthy's appointment.

Labor has called for an immediate suspension of the live sheep export trade until the McCarthy review is completed. It has also called for a three-month ban during the hottest months in the Persian Gulf.

The final report is due on 11 May.

Littleproud has said that he will support an end to the summer trade if that is what McCarthy recommends, saying on Friday that: "If I am looking at evidence that Dr McCarthy comes back with that says there is no way in any sense that this could be undertaken then we have to listen to that."

Rossmore veterinary hospital to house Camden animals

Camden Council is expected to continue utisilising Rossmore Veterinary Hospital to impound the area's lost and unwanted pets for a further two years.

Councillors will vote to adopt the hospital for continued use at this Tuesday's council meeting.

Camden Council used Renbury Farm, in Austral, for its pound services until late 2016, when the site was sold.

Negotiations with Campbelltown Council to use its pound facilities fell apart in 2017, causing the council to look elsewhere.

Rossmore Veterinary Hospital was selected for a short-term trial in June last year, ahead of a call for tenders to provide an impound service.

The centre applied for the tender, which council staff have recommended be approved.

A report said the hospital was aligned with the council's view on impounded animals.

"The intention of the tender was to appoint a contractor with the ability to provide core animal impounding and veterinary services, demonstrate complying facilities and demonstrate strong corporate and social responsibility to deliver on council's adopted 'no kill' policy in operating its animal care facility," the report read.

The council was looking for a facility to house both companion animals and livestock, however no applications were received to cater for livestock.

The council will continue to seek a suitable location to impound livestock.

The report praised the Rossmore facility for making the site more comfortable for animals.

"Since June 1, there have been more than 140 dogs and 70 cats from Camden LGA pass through Rossmore Veterinary Hospital," the report stated.

"In this time, council officers and the hospital have built a productive and professional working relationship.

"Rossmore vets have facilitated a number of improvements including the installation of blinds on the kennels and a new air-conditioning unit in the cattery.

"Importantly, Rossmore vets have worked closely with council officers to promote and market impounded animals to give them the best opportunity of being rehomed."

The council will continue to "investigate long-term options for our growing community".

Animals worldwide stick close to home when humans move in

Animals living in landscapes used intensively by people travel, on average, only half to one-third as far as animals in more remote areas do — a pattern that's consistent across dozens of species worldwide. The finding, published today in Science1, has implications for important ecological processes linked to animal movement, such as seed transport and nutrient cycling. And it could spell trouble for the animals themselves as the climate changes.

More than 100 scientists around the world shared satellite-tracking data for 803 mammals from 57 species, from impala (Aepyceros melampus) to olive baboons (Papio anubis) and grizzly bears (Ursus arctos). The data charted the animals' movements over timescales of up to ten days, and were correlated with a Human Footprint Index that measures how deeply our species has impacted a place, using metrics such as population density and the presence of roads and night-time lights.

There's likely to be more than one explanation for the animals' reduced mobility, says Marlee Tucker, a macro-ecologist at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, who led the study. "Some animals might be sort of trapped, caught in fragments that are suitable for them, surrounded by a landscape that is not suitable — a road, a fence or a lot of people." But others might be tethering themselves to attractive resources, such as edible crops or water sources intended for livestock.

Sticking close to calories

That helps to explain the behaviour of a herd of elk (Cervus elaphus) near Banff National Park in Canada tracked by ecologist Mark Hebblewhite of the University of Montana in Missoula. Many have stopped migrating between summer and winter range. "They've given up their old wild ways," Hebblewhite says. The same dynamic is playing out with migrating ungulates across the western United States and Canada, Hebblewhite says. Many now spend the summer feasting on irrigated alfalfa crops in areas they once abandoned in warm months. "The point of migrating was to get access to what's under that [sprinkler] in August" — calories."

Reduced movement can affect ecosystems because it means that seeds and nutrients in dung might not be spread so widely, or because herbivores such as elk graze smaller areas more intensively. It can affect the animals, as well: crowding together in a small area could increase the risk of disease. "It is definitely concerning," Tucker says.

Conservation biologist Reed Noss, president of the Florida Institute for Conservation Science in Chuluota, says the findings underscore the importance of corridors of land that allow wildlife to move between core areas of habitat. As the climate changes and the seas rise, these features enable animals to search widely for food and mates — and eventually seek more hospitable climates.

A helping hand

Where human barriers such as roads and cities can't be perforated with wildlife corridors, or where animals can't move quickly enough to keep up with changes in their environment, some species may need help moving, Noss says. "It seems like we will have little choice but to intervene if we don't want to lose species."

Hebblewhite says that knowing that human activity is reducing species movement "galvanizes" him to fight for more wildlife-friendly open space —even rail-thin corridors — to help animals roam. "It is going to be tough to make big new protected areas in the twenty-first century," he says. But it is possible to build new connections, such as wildlife overpasses across highways, and to protect existing slivers of habitat criss-crossing cities and farms that can serve as corridors. Even convincing ranchers to leave their gates open in the winter when cattle aren't around can help, says Hebblewhite, by allowing pronghorn antelope to migrate with the seasons.

Tucker adds that migration is one of the world's great natural wonders and deserves to be protected for its own sake. "It would be a real shame if we modified the landscape so much that you didn't have that joy of knowing that the animals travelled so far," she says. "And nature documentaries wouldn't have that great footage anymore.

Why do Polish animals talk on Christmas Eve?

If you have a dog, cat, or other animal around at midnight on Christmas Eve, listen up!

According to legend, this is the one night of the year when they gain the magical ability to speak.

Where does this myth come from? While there is no definite answer, scholars have offered a few possibilities.

Some connect it to a tale that the farm animals which surrounded St. Mary on the first Christmas bowed to the baby Jesus when he was born.

Others trace its origins even further back, to the ancient Roman festival Saturnalia. During this week-long winter holiday, social roles were reversed – most famously, it was during this time that masters traditionally served their slaves.

As with many fairy tales, some of the stories are quite dark. For example, some say that the only people who can hear animals speak are fated soon to die. Other legends even say that the animals speak to each other to plot revenge against neglectful owners.

Now, though, the myth is  observed lightheartedly in Poland and some other European countries on Christmas Eve.

For example, asked if she expected her hamster, Kwant, to say anything, high schooler Michalina Smoleń replies, "I hope not! His favorite tidbits were finished a month ago… and he is not happy."

Neuropsychology student Ania Starowicz reports that her cat Jerry would probably say, "I hate you."

And then? "‘I love you.' He's bipolar."

Animal activists hope to save infamous Deep Ellum dog

Animal activists and rescue groups in Dallas are scrambling to save a locally infamous dog from being put down this week. They say the dog shouldn't have to pay for what they believe are the sins of the owner.

On any given night in Deep Ellum, you could find a man named Sean and his sidekick a little dog he named Lamby. That's short for her full name. He calls her Lamb of God.

For months neighbors have been complaining about what they see as animal abuse. The dog, sometimes rolled around the city in a child's stroller, is often strapped in a milk crate on the front of a bicycle. Hats and sunglasses are rubber-banded to her head while she serves as a roadside attraction for her owner to panhandle for money.

"There's a saying that there are no bad dogs just bad owners. And that's really never been truer than in this situation," said Deep Ellum neighborhood activist Raine Devries.

"It is absolutely horrific that an animal has to pay the price for a horrible person," said Jessica Brodsky who says she has seen, and complained about, the man and his dog on multiple occasions.

Because here's what happened. During one of its "performances" the dog nipped at someone. Dallas Animal Services took custody of the dog, gave it vaccinations, had her spayed, and a rescue group says they were told they had a chance to adopt her.

But the owner payed the necessary fines and got the dog back. A short time later, as detailed in a police report, the duo was in the Bishop Arts area south of downtown Dallas and the owner reportedly told a family that their child could move in close to take a picture. Police records show that the dog bit the child in the face.

"If you were strapped inside a milk crate with no padding underneath your butt 20 hours a day with a rubber band around your muzzle, you might want to bite someone too," said Lee Jamison with the animal rescue group Awwdoptable, Inc.

"Well we have an order form the courts that the animal be humanely euthanized," said Edward Jamison the new director of Dallas Animal Services. He says his hands are tied, there are two biting incidents on record, and that he is required to abide by the court order and euthanize the dog later this week.

"We do everything we can to responsibly find home for animals but we're also not in the business of putting known dangerous animals back out in the public," Edward Jamison said. "At this point, again, we're operating on that court order."

And that's what he told local activists when he agreed to explain the situation to them this morning. They met for several minutes outside the Dallas Animal Services facility in West Dallas.

But those hoping to rescue Lamby are still searching for a last minute reprieve, maybe a legal change of heart.

"We have so many wonderful animal rescue groups and so I think that that they need to be utilized more before we hand a dog a death sentence," said Brodsky.

A death sentence due to be carried out unless the courts decide Lamby, the reluctant roadside attraction, deserves another chance.