Independent observations of livestock export voyages by sea

The department administers an independent observer (observer) program for livestock export voyages by sea to provide additional assurance on the effectiveness of exporter arrangements in managing animal welfare. The role of an observer is to monitor, observe and report on activities in approved export programs for the purpose of ensuring the health and welfare of live animals in the course of export activities.

Following the completion of the voyage observers prepare a report detailing their observations from the loading of the vessel, through to completion of discharge at the final destination port. The primary purpose of the independent observer reports is to provide the department with information to enable the effective regulation of the livestock export trade.

Once the report is received from the observer it is reviewed by departmental officers to identify any issues that require regulatory action.  Where significant issues are identified in the report, appropriate corrective actions are issued by the department.

A comprehensive quality assurance and peer review process is then applied to each observer report.  As part of this process a redacted copy of the report is prepared for the regulated entity, the exporter.  Reports are redacted to ensure privacy requirements are met.

In recognition of the high level of community interest in livestock exports, the department also prepares a summary of the key observations from the report for publication. Where possible, the observer approves the summary report prior to its publication.  The summary reports provide an accurate account of what has been observed from the loading of each vessel through to discharge at the final destination port.

Australian Government Accredited Veterinarians and LiveCorp Accredited Stockperson/s continue to undertake the exporter’s program of activities; keeping animal welfare as their primary focus.  The observer takes no active part in the management of the livestock during the voyage.

The stockpersons are employed by the exporters, and as such, report back directly to them during and after the voyage.  As a result, exporters should already be aware of any health and welfare issues that arise during voyages, to enable appropriate action where required, without the need to await provision of redacted observer reports, or the publication of summary observer reports.

For the purpose of these reports, the first day of the voyage is considered to be the first day of loading, and the last day of the voyage is considered to be the final day of discharge.

*Report numbers are allocated at the time Independent Observers are assigned to a voyage. Occasionally, changes in circumstance results in the Independent Observer not being deployed on the voyage.

Discretion advised: These reports contain images which may be distressing to some viewers.

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