APD | Shipment of 5,000 Australian cattle to China halted

By APD writer Easwaran

**VICTORIA, Sept. 13 (APD) ** -- Australian officials have halted a proposed shipment of 5,000 cattle to China over allegations that ear tags had been tampered with to circumvent China’s strict import protocols, local media reported.

The dairy cattle were scheduled to leave Portland in southern Victoria on the live export ship Yangtze Fortune bound for China as breeding stock.

However, the shipment has been suspended on the instructions of federal agriculture officials over allegations of tampering.

“This decision was due to the department’s concerns that elements of China’s strict export protocols had not been adhered to in relation to this specific consignment,” a spokesman at the Department of Agriculture has said adding that it had nothing to do with any type of disease outbreak in Australia.

The department said it was conducting a joint investigation with Agriculture Victoria and providing regular updates to authorities in China. It said it would not comment further while the investigation was under way.

The Portland Observer newspaper reported that the cattle were filling up local feedlots, but the department said they could be moved.

“There are no current restrictions on the domestic movement of the cattle,” a spokesman said. “This is a commercial decision for the exporter.”

It was understood that ear tags, used to trace the origin of cattle, were tampered with.

The Australian Live Export Council’s chief executive, Mark Harvey-Sutton, said the incident related to an alleged breach of Australia’s domestic traceability systems.

He said that halting the shipment was a “drastic action” that reflected the seriousness of the incident.

(ASIA PACIFIC DIALY)