Meat & Livestock Australia and LiveCorp
Vietnam is Australia’s second-largest live export market for beef cattle and has imported almost 2 million head in the last decade.
Over this time, local supply chain partners and government representatives from both countries have developed strong relationships, which have enabled conversations about the benefits of prioritising animal welfare across the live cattle supply chain. As a result of this relationship, the Vietnamese Government was able to request help developing new animal welfare standards from Australian representatives.
In November 2023 the Vietnamese Government announced the introduction of national animal welfare standards in Vietnam that are consistent with Australia’s domestic standards. Although currently voluntary, these standards benefit local and Australian-bred imported livestock by setting high expectations around animal welfare and raising awareness of the benefits of treating animals well. The Vietnamese Government developed information campaigns and resources for the Vietnamese beef industry to showcase the new standards.
Australia has provided assistance to Vietnam in developing these standards through the Livestock Export Program (LEP) – a collaboration between LiveCorp and Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA). The LEP provides training for staff working in Vietnamese feedlots, livestock transport and abattoirs, and advice to industry partners on how to continually improve their practices.
Learn more about the new animal welfare standards in Vietnam.
Acknowledgements
The department thanks Australian Livestock Export Corporation Ltd (LiveCorp) for the provision of the case study. Thanks also to Whereto Research for their support in coordinating input.
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