Summary
Quality assurance in Australia's livestock export
industry arose from a need to address animal welfare concerns. It
was initially instigated by industry in the form of an accreditation
scheme which contained standards, auditing requirements and training
requirements. Two major incidents in long haul shipping of livestock
demonstrated that risk management in the industry cannot be achieved
through compliance with standards alone. A thorough investigation
of the first incident recommended the introduction of formal risk
management to complement a standards regime. This approach is applicable
to the management of major risks, such as heat stress and disease.
It is also especially suited to commercial risks, such as the rejection
of cargo and where voyage or market specific treatments are needed
and depend upon the expertise of the exporter. However, before these
recommendations on risk management could be fully implemented, a
significant public incident occurred which altered the direction
of quality assurance in industry. The Australian response was to
transfer authority to government regulators with a tightening of
standards. This focuses on the need to ensure ownership of quality
assurance programmes by the exporter. Formal risk management has
been a casualty of the second incident and, unfortunately, has not
been introduced.
Keywords
Australia,
Export, Livestock, Management, Quality assurance, Risk management,
Standards, Transport, Vessel, Welfare.
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