Animal Welfare

Good Animal Welfare is our Priority!

Good animal welfare makes good sense, and the NTCA supports initiatives to continually improve welfare along the entire production and supply chain.

Good animal welfare also delivers improved productivity, production and economic returns.

Building a greater understanding of the challenges and opportunities faced by our industry across the wider community is a priority for the NTCA, and animal welfare is no exception.

As a major supplier of food to families in Indonesia and South East Asia through live export, Australia is recognized as the world leader in animal welfare through voluntary and legislative standards.

We seek to also maximize our influence over animal welfare practices in our overseas markets even where we may not supply livestock, or control the production system.

Having said this, it is important to get out the right messages.

In his final annual report as NTCA President, Roy Chisholm described animal welfare as one of the most difficult and pressing issues confronting Australia’s live cattle export industry.

“The ongoing animal rights campaign is an unjustified situation in light of this country’s world-leading efforts to make sure our livestock are treated with appropriate care through every stage of their journey from the farm to the markets,” he said.

“Despite, we are forced to deal with an extremist and dangerously ill-informed lobby movement which we cannot allow to get the upper hand in terms of public perceptions about our industry. Our reputation for producing healthy, high quality cattle and our commitment to animal welfare is helping drive international demand for our livestock. That’s the way we want things to stay – and that’s the message we must get out into the community.”

Please also read the information on Livestock Transport Standards.