❓ A WA parliamentary question addresses the impact of the federal live sheep export ban and current market conditions on the sheep industry, including potential mass euthanasia and government support. The Minister acknowledges contributing factors and outlines existing resources.
AnsweredQoN 1072Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
SHEEP
INDUSTRY
1072. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the Minister for Agriculture and
Food:
I refer to the meat processing
capacity constraints and market conditions that currently prevail within the Western
Australian sheep industry.
(1) Does the
minister accept that the federal government's decision to ban live
sheep exports is a contributing factor to the current market conditions?
(2) What is the
potential number of sheep currently being held within the Western Australian
agricultural system that may need to be euthanased as a consequence of the
current market conditions?
(3) What plans
does the state government have in place to assist farmers in the event that the
mass euthanasing of sheep is necessary?
(4) Which
industry organisations were consulted as part of the development of those
plans, and when were they finalised?
INDUSTRY
1072. Hon COLIN de GRUSSA to the Minister for Agriculture and
Food:
I refer to the meat processing
capacity constraints and market conditions that currently prevail within the Western
Australian sheep industry.
(1) Does the
minister accept that the federal government's decision to ban live
sheep exports is a contributing factor to the current market conditions?
(2) What is the
potential number of sheep currently being held within the Western Australian
agricultural system that may need to be euthanased as a consequence of the
current market conditions?
(3) What plans
does the state government have in place to assist farmers in the event that the
mass euthanasing of sheep is necessary?
(4) Which
industry organisations were consulted as part of the development of those
plans, and when were they finalised?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) There are a number
of factors that have contributed to low national sheep prices, including farms
in other states destocking as a result of climate change and reduced domestic
demand for breeding ewes.
(2) There are
reports of sheep farmers considering euthanasing livestock, particularly older
breeding ewes, as dropping livestock prices
result in older animals being deemed to have no commercial value. The potential number of sheep being considered for euthanasia will be impacted by a number of
external factors, but noting that the live export of sheep from WA recommenced
on 14 September following the end of the northern summer export ban, this will
provide an additional market for sheep.
(3) The
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has information
available to farmers on seasonal conditions, options for managing sheep in a poor
season, welfare decisions for sheep, humane destruction of sheep and links to
WA' s rural support services.
(4) DPIRD has
well established industry networks and that intelligence is used to formulate
plans to help producers deal with difficult seasonal and market conditions.
some notice of the question.
(1) There are a number
of factors that have contributed to low national sheep prices, including farms
in other states destocking as a result of climate change and reduced domestic
demand for breeding ewes.
(2) There are
reports of sheep farmers considering euthanasing livestock, particularly older
breeding ewes, as dropping livestock prices
result in older animals being deemed to have no commercial value. The potential number of sheep being considered for euthanasia will be impacted by a number of
external factors, but noting that the live export of sheep from WA recommenced
on 14 September following the end of the northern summer export ban, this will
provide an additional market for sheep.
(3) The
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development has information
available to farmers on seasonal conditions, options for managing sheep in a poor
season, welfare decisions for sheep, humane destruction of sheep and links to
WA' s rural support services.
(4) DPIRD has
well established industry networks and that intelligence is used to formulate
plans to help producers deal with difficult seasonal and market conditions.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.