KARACHI, Sept 19: A top official of the Australia-based company that exported the more than 21,000 sheep to Pakistan has asked the government to immediately stop the culling of the animals till a ‘credible independent inspection’ of sheep is carried out by international experts to ascertain their fitness for human consumption.

Stephen Meerwald, managing director of the Wellard Rural Exports, was speaking at a press conference in a hotel here on Wednesday. He was accompanied by first secretary political and economic affairs at the Australian High Commission Melissa Kelly and Prof Ulrich Wernery, scientific director of the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Dubai.

“How the animals are being handled here is a disgrace. This issue needs to be solved on an immediate basis as misconceptions being fuelled by speculation in the media and other circles is damaging Australia’s and Pakistan’s reputation,” Mr Meerwald said, insisting that OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health which works in affiliation with the World Health Organisation) accredited experts carry out tests for checking.

Giving a background of the matter, he said the sheep export vessel left Australia on Aug 4 with 73,000 sheep and 72 cattle. The vessel proceeded to Muscat, Oman, where it discharged 7,000 sheep before proceeding to Doha, Qatar, where it discharged 46,000 sheep and the cattle.

“At both ports, the livestock were inspected by government veterinary authorities and cleared for release without any issue. Had they been infected and carrying any virus, Qatar’s and Oman’s authorities should also have had the same problem as is being reported about Bahrain,” he said.

The vessel then proceeded to its third destination, Bahrain, with 22,000 sheep where during veterinary inspection a small number of animals were found to have minor lesions of ‘common viral infection’ known as scabby mouth.

This caused a long delay in the release of animals, he said, and at one point the Bahraini authorities requested an independent health inspection of the livestock which was carried out by a team which included Prof Ulrich Wernery, an OIE-accredited veterinarian.

The inspection, he claimed, found the animals perfectly healthy and free of any hazardous disease. “Following this, the vessel returned to Bahrain port where a letter had been issued by the ministry of municipalities and agricultural affairs allowing entry, after taking precautionary veterinary measures on board the ship.

“However, nothing practically happened to facilitate the release of the consignment and a further delay prompted the ship owners to leave the port and sell the sheep to Pakistan where alternative commercial arrangements had been made for the purpose.”

Replying to questions, Mr Meerwald said only two sheep were found infected with scabby mouth which were euthanised on the vessel. The Pakistani government quarantine officials inspected the consignment and cleared for discharge into the importer’s holding facility.

He said every shipment of livestock from Australia was regulated by the Australian government to ensure that every animal exported complied with Australia’s strict animal welfare and health standards as well as those of the importing country.He, however, did not have documentary evidence to show that the sheep were free of disease when they were inspected by a team of independent experts.

Answering another question, he said Bahrain did not respect the memorandum of understanding it had signed with Australia which ensured that the animals did not suffer on the vessel for a long time and they were inspected and released without hassle.

“The livestock exporters have decided not to have business with Bahrain unless this issue is resolved at the diplomatic level between the two governments. Since Bahrain is a major importing country we would like things to be back on track,” he said.

He said the company had exported 30 million animals world over in the past 32 years and it had been exporting to North and South America, New Zealand and Europe. It had had business relations with Pakistan since 1996.

The company’s staff, he said, had been at the private farm in Razzakabad till last Sunday and they were ‘happy’ with the health status of the animals. In reply to a question as to why the company did not raise its voice earlier, he said the culling of sheep came as a shock and it was considered a far-off possibility since test reports from a laboratory in Islamabad, the only OIE-accredited laboratory in Pakistan, had come negative and quarantine department officials in Karachi had cleared the consignment.

“It was heartbreaking for all of us. Considerable resources were spent on rearing these animals and for this to happen is an absolute tragedy,” he said, adding that the bacteria shown in a laboratory report were inherently present in all animals.

When asked if the company could take the consignment back to Australia, Mr Meerwald said it was now up to the PK Livestock to decide as it had purchased the animals.

Declining to give details of the sale amount, Mr Meerwald admitted there were policy issues back in Australia which prohibited entry of rejected live animals’ consignments as the country had to maintain high quarantine standards.

Prof Ulrich Wernery, who had inspected the sheep at the private farm before coming to the press conference, said he found no animal sick in his hour-long visit.

“I am shocked to see what I have seen at the farm. Healthy sheep are being killed for no reason in a country where people don’t have enough to eat. I was able to convince the staff there to stop it,” he said, adding that during his five-hour inspection in Bahrain he did not find any animal sick.

Regarding concerns over scabby mouth and foot-and-mouth disease, he said the viral disease (scabby mouth) was a minor disease which could affect humans but such incidents were rare.

Australia, he said, had been a foot-and-mouth disease-free country for a long time and if the disease was detected, the animals must have contracted it either in Pakistan or Bahrain.

A representative of the high commission said officials of her government were confused and concerned as Australia had a good reputation as the world leader in livestock export.

She said: “We want to see the issue resolved as quickly and efficiently as possible so animals could go to the markets where they were intended to be sent for.”