EXPORT OF LIVE ANIMALS INTENDED FOR SLAUGHTER
If livestock are to be exported to foreign countries for the purpose of slaughter there is no valid reason why they should be transported as living animals, only to be slaughtered on arrival or soon thereafter. Instead, they should be slaughtered in South Africa and meat or other products exported since this imposes no additional animal welfare risk above that inherent in local slaughter. Transport and slaughter procedures in South Africa are usually for superior to those in foreign countries involved in this trade.
Furthermore, no matter what precautions and procedures are put in place, long-distance transport remains fraught with serious and inherent welfare risks that can be completed avoided by slaughtering livestock locally. The reasons put forward far allowing transportation of livestock over long distances to foreign countries for the purpose of slaughter does not bear close scrutiny and are often used to mask underlying financial reasons that lower costs or increase profits.
There is no cultural or religious practice or requirement involved that cannot be met if animals are slaughtered in South Africa. For these reasons the practice of exporting live animals for slaughter must be ended and banned by appropriate legal means.