Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry (Export of Pregnant Cattle) 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 29 November 2002
ANN McDONALD
General Manager, Market Maintenance Group
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Contents
1 Name of Order
2 Commencement
3 Object
4 Definitions
5 Control of export of pregnant cattle
6 Export to the Middle East
7 Requirements for export
8 Review of decisions
1 Name of Order
This Order is the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry (Export of Pregnant Cattle) Order 2002.
2 Commencement
This Order commences on gazettal.
3 Object
The object of this Order is to enable a commercial live export trade in pregnant cattle.
4 Definitions
In this Order:
AQIS means the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.
bos indicus means a zebu or humped cattle breed.
Examples
Brahman, Droughtmaster and Santa Gertrudis.
bos taurus means a non-humped cattle breed.
Examples
Angus, Charolais, Friesian, Hereford, Jersey, Limousin, Murray Grey and Simmental.
cattle means live cattle.
cow means a female bovine animal that:
(a) is 3 or more years of age; or
(b) has produced a calf.
dairy cattle scale means the body condition scoring chart published in the Journal of Dairy Science, volume 72, 1989, pages 68 to 78.
exporter means a person who exports Australian cattle.
heifer means a female bovine animal that:
(a) is less than 3 years of age; and
(b) has not yet produced a calf.
LEAP means the document called ‘Live-stock Export Accreditation Program’, published in March 2001 by the Australian Livestock Export Corporation Ltd.
Note Copies of LEAP are available from LiveCorp at 23 Hunter Street, Sydney NSW 2000, telephone (02) 9223 7655.
National Cattle Pregnancy Diagnosis Scheme means the scheme of that name administered by the Australian Association of Cattle Veterinarians.
5 Control of export of pregnant cattle
(1) An exporter may export pregnant cattle only if:
(a) the cattle are no more than 6 months pregnant at the time of shipment; and
(b) the requirements in section 7 have been met.
(2) An exporter must not, without the written consent of the Secretary, export a pregnant cow or pregnant heifer during May, June, July, August, September or October if the cow or heifer:
(a) was bred in an area of Australia south of 26 south latitude; and
(b) has a live weight greater than 500 kilograms at the time of shipment.
(3) An exporter must not, without the written consent of the Secretary, export a pregnant cow or pregnant heifer during November, December, January, February, March or April if the cow or heifer:
(a) was bred in an area of Australia south of 26 south latitude; and
(b) has a live weight greater than 550 kilograms at the time of shipment.
6 Export to the Middle East
(1) This section applies to the export of pregnant cattle:
(a) to a port in any of the following places:
(i) Bahrain;
(ii) Egypt;
(iii) Israel;
(iv) Jordan;
(v) Kuwait;
(vi) Oman;
(vii) Palestine;
(viii) Qatar;
(ix) Saudi Arabia;
(x) the United Arab Emirates; and
(b) during May, June, July, August, September or October.
(2) An exporter must not export pregnant cattle if the cattle:
(a) are of a bos taurus breed; and
(b) were bred in an area of Australia south of 26 south latitude.
7 Requirements for export
(1) An exporter who intends to export pregnant cattle must:
(a) lodge a notice of intention to export under order 6 of the Export Control (Animals) Orders as amended; and
(b) at the same time the notice of intention to export is lodged, submit a management plan for the export of the cattle, in the approved form, to AQIS.
Note 1 Under order 6 of the Export Control (Animals) Orders as amended, a notice of intention to export must be lodged:
(a) if isolation is not required, not less than 7 clear working days prior to the intended date of export; and
(b) if isolation is required, not less than 7 clear working days prior to the commencement of the isolation period.
Note 2 The approved form of management plan is available from LiveCorp.
(2) The exporter must ensure that the pregnant cattle to be exported:
(a) are individually identified; and
(b) have a body score no lower than 3 and no higher than 6 on the dairy cattle scale; and
(c) have been declared to be no more than 6 months pregnant at the time of shipment; and
(d) when on board the ship, are kept in accordance with subsection (4).
(3) For paragraph (2) (c), a declaration must be made in writing by a veterinarian who is:
(a) a member of the Australian Association of Cattle Veterinarians and an accredited tester under the National Cattle Pregnancy Diagnosis Scheme; or
(b) able to demonstrate a level of experience and skill equivalent to that of a veterinarian mentioned in paragraph (a).
(4) For paragraph (2) (d), pregnant cattle must be kept:
(a) with cattle that have a live weight range that does not exceed the average live weight of all the cattle in the pen plus or minus 25 kilograms; and
(b) in pens that, except for hospital pens, have an average floor area for each head of cattle of at least:
(i) for pregnant heifers of a bos taurus breed — the minimum area required for cattle under Table 2 of the Australian live-stock export standard set out in LEAP; and
(ii) for pregnant heifers of a bos indicus breed — the minimum area required for cattle under Table 1 of the Australian live-stock export standard set out in LEAP; and
(iii) for pregnant cows of a bos taurus breed — an area 5% larger than the minimum area required for cattle under Table 2 of the Australian live-stock export standard set out in LEAP; and
(iv) for pregnant cows of a bos indicus breed — an area 5% larger than the minimum area required for cattle under Table 1 of the Australian livestock export standard set out in LEAP.
8 Review of decisions
(1) If the Secretary refuses to consent to the export of pregnant cattle mentioned in subsections 5 (2) and (3), the exporter who sought the consent may ask the Secretary to reconsider the decision.
(2) A request for reconsideration must:
(a) be in writing; and
(b) set out the reasons why the Secretary should reconsider the decision; and
(c) be given to the Secretary within 14 days after the exporter is told in writing of the decision.
(3) After reconsidering a decision, the Secretary must either:
(a) confirm the original decision; or
(b) substitute another decision for it.
(4) If the Secretary does not tell the exporter in writing of the result of the reconsideration within 21 days after receiving the request, the Secretary is taken to have confirmed the original decision.
(5) The exporter may apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of the Secretary’s decision on reconsideration.