Pakistan to Go Ahead with Culling 21,000 Aussie Sheep Despite Court Injunction

Pakistan is pushing through with the culling of 21,000 Australian sheep despite assurances from Canberra that the animals are healthy and a court injunction obtained by PK Livestock, the importer, which should temporarily save the lives of the sheep.

"There is no suspension in the process, as the bacterial presence in the animal is confirmed and we can't put human life in danger in Pakistan," Ninesman quoted Karachi Administrator Roshan Shaikh.

Authorities had already culled 700 of the sheep before the injunction was issued by the court which sought to look at the details of the laboratory tests. The importer also sought another independent test on the animal's health.

There are also reports that some of the sheep had been delivered to hotels and restaurants in Pakistan.

Australian officials and the Pakistani meat industry insist that the animals are healthy. Peter Heyward, Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, insisted the animals do not pose risks to human or animal health.

He stressed that salmonella and actinomyces are normally part of gut flora and present in livestock globally. Dr Abdul Hafeex Shaikh, veterinary chief of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation which supervises the cull, admitted orders to kill the sheep came from top Pakistani officials.

Bahrain rejected the same animals because of reports that some of the sheep were infected with scabby mouth disease. Because of the confusion caused by the situation, Australian MP Kevin Thomson said that no live animals should be exported from Australia or allowed to leave the country without a guarantee of acceptance upon arrival at the port of destination.

In case the culling would push through, Mr Thomson said it must be cleared if the sheep would be killed in accordance with the supply chain assurance scheme which the Australian government put in place.

He said Australia agreed to the resumption of live sheep export on the basis of a memorandum of understanding that Bahrain inked but the Middle Eastern country refused to comply with.

Due to the situation, Mr Thomson proposed that Australia transition out of live animal export altogether and instead shift to domestic processing which has better animal welfare and economic outcomes.

In turn, the RSPCA asked the federal government to issue new rules to breeding animals.