A report on monitoring and reporting during livestock export voyages was issued today by Australia’s Inspector-General of Live Animal Exports, Mr Ross Carter.

This review examined the efficacy of on-board monitoring and reporting in assessing compliance with legislation, standards and managing risks to animal welfare during voyages.

Mr Carter found that the department should focus on increasing transparency, improve their clarity of purpose and target regulatory effort on preventing and mitigating the risk of harm to animals. He recommended more effective use of sanctions to ensure the delivery of firm and fair regulation that is critical to community trust and confidence in industry.

Mr Carter also recommended improvements to the quality, standards and analysis of reported data. This included the installation of CCTV technology and automated loggers on ships to reduce human error and support on-board response to risks with real-time data.

The report supported the department’s decision to continue to deploy Independent Observers as part of a risk-based compliance monitoring program. The department should publish Independent Observer summary reports with a service level commitment period after the conclusion of a voyage.

Increased support for, and scrutiny of, Australian Government accredited veterinarians was also recommended.

The department has supported or supported in principle all the recommendations.

The Inspector-General would like to thank those stakeholders who provided information to inform this review.

The final report can be viewed on the IGLAE website