Australian livestock industries face increased scrutiny from animal welfare groups and society, and the long-distance transport of livestock by sea has recently gained particular attention. Other than non-compliance with broad regulatory standards and voyage mortality rates, there is minimal information to ascertain the welfare of exported livestock. There is currently no standardised, validated animal welfare assessment protocol for livestock on-farm prior to live export or when undergoing transport. This study describes a novel assessment protocol suitable for use on live feeder and slaughter animals exported by sea from Australia. Health and welfare indicators for use in the livestock export supply chain were identified by reviewing three internationally recognised animal welfare assessment protocols for livestock; Welfare Quality^®, AWIN and AssureWel, as well as consulting with industry compliance standards and guidelines. This paper proposes a welfare protocol designed to assess sheep and beef cattle exported by sea from Australia, and incorporates environmental-, resource-, management- and animal-based measures. In collaboration with industry, this welfare protocol can be tested on commercial livestock consignments, and be used for ongoing management, for increased transparency and to provide feedback to operators for continuous improvement.

Animal welfare is an important issue for the live export industry (LEI), in terms of economic returns, community attitudes and international socio-political relations. Mortality has traditionally been the main welfare measure recorded within the LEI; however, high mortality incidents are usually acted upon after adverse events occur, reducing the scope for proactive welfare enhancement. We reviewed 71 potential animal welfare measures, identifying those measures that would be appropriate for use throughout the LEI for feeder and slaughter livestock species, and categorised these as animal-, environment- and resource-based. We divided the live export supply chain into three sectors: (1) Australian facilities, (2) vessel and (3) destination country facilities. After reviewing the relevant regulations for each sector of the industry, we identified 38 (sector 1), 35 (sector 2) and 26 (sector 3) measures already being collected under current practice. These could be used to form a ‘welfare information dashboard’: a LEI-specific online interface for collecting data that could contribute towards standardised industry reporting. We identified another 20, 25 and 28 measures that are relevant to each LEI sector (sectors 1, 2, 3, respectively), and that could be developed and integrated into a benchmarking system in the future.

Understanding live export industry workers’ attitudes and beliefs toward animal welfare can provide insight into their decision-making processes and likely behavior. Industry workers (n = 265) with various roles within the supply chain were surveyed from different global regions. Participants were divided into ten categories according to their industry roles and compared using ordinal regression. Respondents were highly likely to have a positive attitude toward animal welfare; the majority of workers enjoyed working with livestock (95.8%) and agreed that livestock should be treated with respect (97.7%). Workers demonstrated a strong understanding of animal welfare concepts, 168 respondents (63.4%) provided examples of ways they had improved animal welfare in their workplace, and 164 workers (61.9%) suggested ways that animal welfare could be improved further. Most workers (95.8%) agreed that animal welfare was satisfactory in their workplace. Five out of the 24 multiple-choice responses differed significantly by the participant’s industry role, but no particular group displayed consistently divergent beliefs or attitudes. Given the community concern regarding animals in the livestock export supply chain, it is imperative to understand the attitudes of industry personnel who are responsible for the daily management of the animals. This knowledge assists in the development of animal welfare policy and can inform strategies to manage public perception.