After the animals spent almost a month aboard the livestock carrier Bahijah, a plan to handle the animals has been presented to Australian authorities. The 2010-built, 7,900 dwt livestock carrier, registered to Israeli-based Bassem Dabbah Shipping and operated by Korkyra Shipping, left Australia on January 5 and on January 16 diverted from its route due to concerns regarding safety concerns from Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea. The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) did not allow the vessel to reach its destination via the longer route around Africa and ordered the vessel to immediately return to Australia citing biosecurity risks and the welfare of the livestock as the main reasons for the decision. The ship, with around 14,000 sheep and 2,500 cattle, is currently moored off the coast of Perth with biosecurity issues not allowing the livestock to be reintroduced to an Australian herd despite not having docked at any other port. The exporter presented a plan to the Department of Agriculture for approval which will see some of the animals offloaded in Western Australia and the rest sent back to the Middle East along the longer 33-day route along Africa. All plans must be assessed and approved by the department as the regulator. The department stated that all reports indicate that there were no signs of any significant health or welfare concerns with the livestock on board. Also, the authority noted that the vessel has a registered veterinarian onboard recording details of the health and welfare of the animals, but the department is assessing the possibility of an additional independent veterinarian attending the vessel to provide further assurance. Regarding the exporter’s plan of handling the sheep and cattle, the department said it was assessing this application as a priority. “These are high-quality Australian animals; however, they would be subject to strict biosecurity controls while in Australia. These are complex decisions that must balance Australian biosecurity, export legislation, animal welfare considerations, and the requirements of our international trading partners,” the Department of Agriculture stated. Western Australia premier Roger Cook claimed that the carrier could dock on Thursday after the vessel manager rejected the offer of a berth on Tuesday. This means that the animals will be disembarked soon. “The other information I have is that they’ve made significant efforts in making sure they clean the stalls and provide new bedding and water and food for those animals,” Cook told local media. Another major concern is the heatwave which hit Australia. Perth’s temperature hit nearly 42 degrees Celsius on Wednesday and is set to hit 39 and 37 degrees Celsius on Thursday and Friday, respectively, which could adversely affect the animals onboard. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsAustralia Livestock