LIVESTOCK vessel MV Bahijah has been stuck at the Fremantle Port after it was ordered to return to Australia due to the worsening crisis in the Red Sea.
There have been mounting concerns about the welfare of thousands of sheep and cattle aboard MV Bahijah.
The Israeli-owned ship left the port city of Fremantle on January 5 but had been ordered to return to Australia on January 20 after receiving a warning it could be targeted by the Houthi rebels.
Even though the ship was allowed to dock at the Fremantle Port, it was banned from unloading livestock as part of Australia’s strict biosecurity regulations.
The sweltering heat is adding pressure on the Australian government to decide whether to allow the ship to leave or bypass its strict biosecurity measures by authorizing it to offload the livestock.
Meanwhile, a crowd of protesters earlier this week gathered at Fremantle and demanded that the Australian government put an end to live exports.
Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said the situation is a reminder of why live export trade is deeply inhumane.
Western Australia minister Josh Wilson on the other hand labeled the return of a ship a “welfare crisis”. This is not the first time the Fremantle Labor MP has addressed the issue based on a speech he delivered more than a year ago.
‘’We have committed to transitioning out of the live sheep export trade. Hallelujah. We’ve been waiting for that for decades, and it will occur, and it will be conducted in a prudent, steady, consultative way,” Josh Wilson, Western Australia Minister said.
The Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council said around 15,000 sheep and 2,500 cattle are on board and have been working sailing at sea for more than 20 days now.
