MV Bahijah: Department yet to confirm if Middle East-bound live export ship in Fremantle will resume journey

Thousands of live export sheep and cattle remain off the coast of WA, with a final decision still yet to be made if the Middle East-bound stock will resume their journey. Officials confirmed on Sunday that of the more than 16,000 sheep and cattle have been stuck on the MV Bahijah since the first week January, there had been a small number of deaths recorded. The boat had diverted to South Africa to avoid Houthi strikes and counterstrikes in the Red Sea but was ordered to return to Fremantle by the Department of Agriculture. The ship docked in Fremantle last week, with livestock remaining on board for days during a heatwave, with hundreds of cattle offloaded under the cover of darkness on Friday night. Department of Agriculture secretary Adam Fennessy said Sunday the livestock that left the ship did so “at the request of the exporter” and were being held in quarantine “at appropriate premises”. “At this time no final decision has been made by my Department officials with respect to the livestock on the MV Bahijah,” he said. “The Department continues to assess the application to re-export the livestock provided by the exporter (Bassem Dabbah) as a matter of priority. “We understand the strong interest in the issue – both from a biosecurity and from an animal health and welfare perspective. My department must make complex decisions for this unique situation that balance export legislation, biosecurity requirements, animal welfare considerations and the requirements of our international trading partners.” Mr Fennessy said the a veterinarian was on board the ship and was providing daily reports that indicated “no significant health or welfare concerns with the livestock that remain on board”. However, chief veterinary officer Dr Beth Cookson said there had been a low number of mortalities on the ship. Mr Fennessy said the ship was undergoing routine cleaning and defended the length of time the Department was taking to decide if the ship could resume its journey. The secretary said the Department had to consider “substantial amounts of information from a variety of sources” and had to provide the exporter procedural fairness. Fremantle MP and vocal opponent of live exports, Josh Wilson, has labelled the trade “marginal, cruel, and unnecessary” and has called the situation on the MV Bahijah a “welfare crisis”. “The bottom line is that live sheep cannot be contained on a ship in one of the hottest and most unstable parts of the world,” he said. But the WAFarmers Federation has blamed the Albanese Government — which plans to shut down the industry — and called for Agriculture Minister Murray Watt to resign. “The Department has actually been the cause of more potential animal welfare issues than anybody else,” the group’s president John Hassell told The West. “We really need someone’s head to roll over the incompetence that has been shown over this. (Senator Watt’s) been very keen to go and chase after the floods in Queensland, but he has shown us absolutely scant regard and is supposed to be the Agriculture Minister.” Senator Watt’s spokesman said the minister could not intervene in the issue because it would be “illegal” and make any departmental decision open to legal challenge.