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Death call for Gulf sheep ship
SYDNEY, Australia -- Animal welfare groups are demanding that more than 50,000 sheep marooned aboard a ship in the Persian Gulf be humanely slaughtered as soon as possible. The sheep had originally been destined for Saudi Arabia but authorities there refused to allow the ship to dock, citing an outbreak of disease among some of the animals on board. That was six weeks ago. Now, with temperatures soaring aboard the Dutch-owned MV Cormo Express, Australian animal welfare groups are demanding the animals be humanely killed before they succumb to infection and heat exhaustion. "It's going to become a floating charnel house soon enough," RSPCA Australia president High Wirth said, adding that the situation on the boat had become "really desperate." The case has attracted widespread media attention in Australia with newspapers dubbing the vessel "the ship of death." Saudi authorities refused to accept the sheep because some of the animals were suffering from a low-grade infection known as scabby mouth disease. The percent of the shipment infected is disputed by Australia, which has since sought to find an alternative port for the sheep -- even offering them for free to anyone in the region willing to take them. So far, that offer has drawn a blank. In the meantime Australia has suspended shipments of livestock to the Middle East pending efforts to negotiate a deal with the Saudis guaranteeing that all future exports will be unloaded. No entryOn Tuesday Pakistan became the third country to refuse to accept the sheep after authorities in the United Arab Emirates also blocked entry to the vessel. That prompted to animal welfare groups to call for the sheep to be swiftly and humanely killed to end their suffering. "The only way to end the suffering is to have them dead. It's either do it on board or find a port...and send them to an abattoir," RSPCA Australia's Hugh Wirth said. According to another welfare group, Animals Australia, the ship has a "captive bolt gun" on board, which could be used to stun the sheep before their throats are cut. The group's executive director, Glenys Oogjes, told Reuters the carcasses could then be fed into a destroyer, or macerator, on board and the remains could be mixed with water before being pumped into the sea in international waters. Australia is the world's largest exporter of live animals, with Saudi Arabia being its principal market. The trade is worth millions of dollars a year to Australian farmers but animal welfare groups say it causes unnecessary suffering to the animals during their transportation and after their arrival in the Middle East.
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