Indonesian laws already provide for humane slaughter

This article was published in The Sydney Morning Herald 3 June 2011

A demand for new laws is unnecessary and may foment a diplomatic row.

A Four Corners report on Monday implicated the Australian livestock industry in the horrendous slaughter of cattle in some small abattoirs in Indonesia. Those who saw the story are likely to retain the images of cattle suffering for a long time.

The report showed how Australian industry designed, built and distributed metal slaughter boxes to Indonesian abattoirs, which contributed to the inhumane slaughter of the cattle; how the abattoir workers, despite being trained by Australian industry members, were not slaughtering in a way considered humane by cattle industry experts; and how some abattoirs were poorly designed, leading to horrific injuries to the animals prior to their death.