Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry (Export of Female Sheep and Goats for Slaughter) Order 2002

Administered by Department of Agriculture

Legislation au F2003B00007 Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry (Export of Female Sheep and Goats for Slaughter) Order 2002

I, ANN MCDONALD, delegate of the Secretary to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, make this Order under section 17 of the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997.

Dated 27 November 2002

ANN MCDONALD

General Manager

Market Maintenance Group

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Contents

 1 Name of Order 

 2 Commencement 

 3 Revocation of Export of Ewes for Slaughter Orders 

 4 Object 

 5 Definitions 

 6 Pregnant ewes and nannies not to be exported 

 7 Scan of ewes and nannies before export 

Schedule 1 Certificate by operator of scanner 

 

 

 

1 Name of Order

  This Order is the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry (Export of Female Sheep and Goats for Slaughter) Order 2002.

2 Commencement

  This Order commences on gazettal.

3 Revocation of Export of Ewes for Slaughter Orders

  The following Orders (being Orders made under the Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1995, and continued in effect by item 5 of Schedule 5 to the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry (Repeals and Consequential Provisions) Act 1997) are revoked:

  Export of Ewes for Slaughter Order No. L15/96

  Export of Ewes for Slaughter Order No. L17/98.

4 Object

  The object of this Order is to prevent the export of live pregnant ewes or pregnant nannies.

5 Definitions

  In this Order:

consignment means a shipment of live Australian sheep or goats for export and slaughter in another country.

ewe means a female sheep that shows evidence of the eruption of 2 or more permanent incisor teeth.

exporter means the holder of a live-stock export licence issued under section 10 of the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997.

nanny means a female goat that shows evidence of the eruption of 2 or more permanent incisor teeth.

operator means a person who is trained to operate a scanner.

scanner means a machine that is able to detect, by means of ultrasound, whether a ewe or nanny is pregnant.

6 Pregnant ewes and nannies not to be exported

 (1) An exporter must not export, or in any way assist the export of, a consignment containing any pregnant ewes or pregnant nannies.

 (2) An exporter must not export, or in any way assist the export of, a consignment containing ewes or nannies unless the procedures mentioned in section 7 have been carried out.

7 Scan of ewes and nannies before export

 (1) An exporter must ensure that the procedures mentioned in this section are carried out for each consignment containing ewes or nannies.

 (2) An operator must examine with a scanner each ewe or nanny in a consignment and determine those (if any) that are pregnant.

 (3) Any pregnant ewe or pregnant nanny must be removed from the consignment.

 (4) Any ewe or nanny that is not pregnant must, if the ewe or nanny is to be exported:

 (a) be tagged with a sequentially numbered tag approved by the Department identifying the operator and the source (that is, property name or other unique identifying source information) of the ewe or nanny; and

 (b) be exported from Australia within 30 days after the date of the examination.

 (5) The operator who performed the examination:

 (a) must complete a certificate in the form set out in Schedule 1; and

 (b) must give the certificate to the exporter; and

 (c) must keep a copy of the certificate; and

 (d) on request, must give a copy of the certificate to the Department for inspection.


Schedule 1 Certificate by operator of scanner

(paragraph 7 (5) (a))

 

 

 

I, [name of operator] (operator), certify that:

 

 1. I have, at the request of [name of exporter] inspected [number of sheep inspected] sheep and [number of goats inspected] goats in a consignment intended for export and identified all female sheep (ewes) and all female goats (nannies) in the consignment showing evidence of the eruption of 2 or more permanent incisor teeth.

 2. I am trained to operate a scanner that is able to detect by means of ultrasound whether a ewe or nanny is pregnant.

 3. I have examined with a scanner each ewe and nanny in the consignment and determined which of them shows evidence of pregnancy.

 4. Each ewe or nanny that showed evidence of pregnancy as a result of this scan was removed from the consignment.

 5. Each ewe or nanny that did not show evidence of pregnancy as a result of this scan was tagged with a sequentially numbered ear tag approved by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Australia, enabling the Department to identify me as the operator and determine the source of the ewe or nanny (including the name of the source property, if available).

 6. I have accurately completed the annexure to this certificate.

 7. I have retained accurate records showing the following details:

 (a) the date when the scan took place;

 (b) the place where the scan took place;

 (c) the source of the ewes or nannies (including the name of the source property, if available);

 (d) the number of sheep and goats in the consignment;

 (e) the number of ewes and nannies identified and scanned;

 (f)  the range of sequential numbers on the ear tags applied to the ewes and nannies;

 (g) the name of the ship on which the consignment is intended to be exported (if available).

These records are available for inspection by representatives of the Department at [address]

 

Dated:

 

 

 

[Signature of operator]

ANNEXURE

 

Date when the scan took place:

 

 

Place where the scan took place:

 

 

Source of the ewes or nannies (including the name of the source property, if available):

 

 

Number of sheep and goats in the consignment:

 

 

Number of ewes or nannies identified and scanned:

 

 

Range of sequential numbers on the ear tags applied to the ewes and nannies:

 

 

Name of the ship on which the consignment is intended to be exported (if available):

 

Overview

The Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry (Export of Female Sheep and Goats for Slaughter) Order 2002 was enacted to address the issue of exporting pregnant ewes and nannies for slaughter. This legislative instrument was introduced under section 17 of the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997 by Ann McDonald, the delegate of the Secretary to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. The primary objective of this Order is to prevent the export of live pregnant ewes or pregnant nannies, ensuring that only non-pregnant animals are exported for slaughter. The Order defines key terms such as 'consignment', 'ewe', 'exporter', 'nanny', 'operator', and'scanner', and mandates that all ewes and nannies be scanned to identify and remove any pregnant animals from the consignment. The non-pregnant animals must be tagged and exported within a specified timeframe. The operator who conducts the scanning must complete and retain a certificate detailing the examination and provide a copy to the exporter and the Department for inspection.

Scope and Application

The Australian Meat and Livestock Industry (Export of Female Sheep and Goats for Slaughter) Order 2002 applies to exporters within the meat and livestock industry in Australia. This includes any person or entity that exports consignments of live sheep or goats for slaughter in another country. The order mandates that pregnant ewes or nannies are not to be exported, ensuring that only non-pregnant ewes and nannies are eligible for export. This applies to all consignments of live Australian sheep or goats intended for export and slaughter abroad. The order is enacted under the Australian Meat and Livestock Industry Act 1997, which provides the legislative framework for the regulation of the Australian meat and livestock industry. The geographic reach of this Order is national, applying uniformly across Australia. The Order revokes previous Orders related to the export of ewes for slaughter, consolidating regulations under a single legislative instrument. The order does not provide for any exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds in terms of the types of animals or the scale of the consignments. The application of the Order can be extended or further specified through subordinate instruments or regulations made under the authority of the Australian Meat and Livestock Industry Act 1997.

Key Provisions

The Australian Meat and Livestock Industry (Export of Female Sheep and Goats for Slaughter) Order 2002 (sections 6 and 7) prohibits the export of pregnant female sheep (ewes) and goats (nannies) and requires that all ewes and nannies be scanned to ensure none are pregnant before they can be exported. Specifically, section 6(1) mandates that exporters must not export or assist in the export of any consignment that contains pregnant ewes or nannies, while section 6(2) requires that exporters ensure any consignment containing ewes or nannies has undergone the scanning procedures outlined in section 7. Section 7(2) requires an operator to scan each ewe and nanny in a consignment to determine pregnancy. Any pregnant ewe or nanny must be removed from the consignment (section 7(3)), and any non-pregnant ewe or nanny must be tagged and exported within 30 days of the scan (section 7(4)). The operator must complete a certificate for each scan and provide it to the exporter and the Department for inspection (section 7(5)). The Order imposes several obligations on exporters and operators. Exporters must ensure that the procedures in section 7 are carried out for each consignment containing ewes or nannies (section 7(1)). They must not export or assist in the export of a consignment containing any pregnant ewes or nannies (section 6(1)). Operators must be trained to use a scanner capable of detecting pregnancy via ultrasound (section 7(2)), examine each ewe and nanny in the consignment to identify any that are pregnant (section 7(2)), and ensure that any pregnant ewes or nannies are removed from the consignment (section 7(3)). Operators must also tag any non-pregnant ewes and nannies with sequentially numbered tags approved by the Department and complete a certificate for each scan (section 7(5)). The Order provides for penalties for breaches of its provisions. While the Order itself does not explicitly state penalties, breaches of the Australian Meat and Livestock Industry Act 1997, under which this Order is made, may attract penalties. Typically, such breaches could result in criminal charges, with potential maximum penalties including fines and imprisonment. For example, section 118 of the Act provides for fines up to 10,000 penalty units (currently AUD 1.86 million) and imprisonment for up to five years for serious breaches. Additionally, the Act allows for the imposition of administrative penalties for less severe breaches. Compliance with the Order is essential to avoid these potential criminal and administrative penalties.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Animal Law
Instrument
Legislative Instrument
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Commencement Provisions
Prohibited Conduct
Reporting & Disclosure Obligations

Interactions

Authorises

All Versions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.