What does a cruel industry do when it knows its days are numbered?
This...
One thing I've learned in my years as an animal cruelty investigator is that there are good-hearted people everywhere. Even in the darkest of places. Even on live export ships.
And sometimes animal suffering can be so extreme, so widespread, and so callous, that it calls on good-hearted people to do extraordinary things — like risk their livelihood, their freedom, and their safety — all for a chance to help animals.
Take Fazal Ullah, the Pakistani naval trainee officer who was horrified by the suffering on board the ships he'd been hired to work on. At 25 years old, Fazal had his whole career ahead of him. He could choose to film the suffering on the decks below. Or, he could choose to look the other way and keep his career. Fazal chose the animals.
Sheep struggled as temperatures and humidity soared aboard the Awassi Express
Fazal's evidence led to long overdue industry and government reform. It forced an investigation into Australia's biggest exporter, which was stripped of its licence to operate when historic breaches of regulations were uncovered. It brought to light the overarching failure of the Australian regulator to manage the live animal trade and adequately apply and enforce the law. Countless gentle sheep have been spared from the horror of being cooked alive. Not only that — his evidence has been verified and accepted by authorities at the highest level.
It takes a lot of guts to be an animal cruelty whistle-blower.
A few weeks ago, something quite alarming happened. We received a highly unusual message from another live export ship worker who had initially come forward in early 2018.
At the time, he wrote, "I was very much depressed because of this trade. As sheeps suffer. Many times Live sheeps were thrown overboarded just for fun purposes. It was really hard time for me to bear."
But now, 11 months later, he was writing to us offering to inflict increased suffering — and get a friend to film the result. We immediately shut this down and suspected that the industry had 'got' to this young man.
We smelled a set-up.
Within days, our suspicions were confirmed with the publication of a slanderous front page story which included these suspicious emails. The live export industry and its defenders rolled out a well-orchestrated plan; using the story to attack Animals Australia, to cast doubt on Fazal's groundbreaking evidence, and to vilify genuine whistle-blowers.
This calculated attack was so clearly designed to intimidate us — to bully us into submission — and to silence the voices of animals.
We will continue to stand up to law-breaking industries that accept and inflict mass animal suffering. We know this attack is a sign of desperation from a brutal trade that is on its way out. And we know that good people will see through it.
Routine conditions aboard the Awassi Express left thousands of sheep suffering
At the end of the day, this isn't about us, or a newspaper, or a cruel industry. It's about the animals. They deserve so much better, and while they suffer, we won't rest.
Thank you for being their voice,
Lyn White AM
Animals Australia
P.S. We are grateful to the recent Parliamentary Committee that sought to address this exact victimisation of whistle-blowers and recommended that more needs to be done to compensate and protect whistle-blowers.
google3d0d9d2d6392ffbd.html
And sometimes animal suffering can be so extreme, so widespread, and so callous, that it calls on good-hearted people to do extraordinary things — like risk their livelihood, their freedom, and their safety — all for a chance to help animals.
Take Fazal Ullah, the Pakistani naval trainee officer who was horrified by the suffering on board the ships he'd been hired to work on. At 25 years old, Fazal had his whole career ahead of him. He could choose to film the suffering on the decks below. Or, he could choose to look the other way and keep his career. Fazal chose the animals.
Sheep struggled as temperatures and humidity soared aboard the Awassi Express
Fazal's evidence led to long overdue industry and government reform. It forced an investigation into Australia's biggest exporter, which was stripped of its licence to operate when historic breaches of regulations were uncovered. It brought to light the overarching failure of the Australian regulator to manage the live animal trade and adequately apply and enforce the law. Countless gentle sheep have been spared from the horror of being cooked alive. Not only that — his evidence has been verified and accepted by authorities at the highest level.
It takes a lot of guts to be an animal cruelty whistle-blower.
A few weeks ago, something quite alarming happened. We received a highly unusual message from another live export ship worker who had initially come forward in early 2018.
At the time, he wrote, "I was very much depressed because of this trade. As sheeps suffer. Many times Live sheeps were thrown overboarded just for fun purposes. It was really hard time for me to bear."
But now, 11 months later, he was writing to us offering to inflict increased suffering — and get a friend to film the result. We immediately shut this down and suspected that the industry had 'got' to this young man.
We smelled a set-up.
Within days, our suspicions were confirmed with the publication of a slanderous front page story which included these suspicious emails. The live export industry and its defenders rolled out a well-orchestrated plan; using the story to attack Animals Australia, to cast doubt on Fazal's groundbreaking evidence, and to vilify genuine whistle-blowers.
This calculated attack was so clearly designed to intimidate us — to bully us into submission — and to silence the voices of animals.
We will continue to stand up to law-breaking industries that accept and inflict mass animal suffering. We know this attack is a sign of desperation from a brutal trade that is on its way out. And we know that good people will see through it.
Routine conditions aboard the Awassi Express left thousands of sheep suffering
At the end of the day, this isn't about us, or a newspaper, or a cruel industry. It's about the animals. They deserve so much better, and while they suffer, we won't rest.
Thank you for being their voice,
Lyn White AM
Animals Australia
P.S. We are grateful to the recent Parliamentary Committee that sought to address this exact victimisation of whistle-blowers and recommended that more needs to be done to compensate and protect whistle-blowers.
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Comment: It is alleged that Fazal Ullah had previously been disciplined for beating a cattle with a stick. If true, so what? If he changed his belief system such that he saw cruelty in something he culturally had accepted as appropriate behaviour, then that's OK with me. The more people change their minds and believe that animals cannot be treated with cruelty the better. I welcome them all.
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