Australia’s ban on cattle exports to RI ‘political’

The House of Representatives says Australia’s move to suspend exports of live cattle to Indonesia is political.
“This is Australia’s political horse-trading, which aims to prevent Indonesia from providing its own cows,” House agriculture commission deputy chair Herman Khaeron said Tuesday as quoted by Antara news agency.
He said Australia was only toying with Indonesia by suspending exports to 11 Indonesian slaughterhouses.
“Australia is happy to see [Indonesia] depending on it to export frozen meat because Indonesia is a huge and potential market,” he said.
His data shows that last year Indonesia imported 120,000 tons of frozen meat and 600,000 live cows, mostly from Australia.
Indonesia is now working to provide its own live cattle by reducing imports of frozen meat to 50,000 tons and increasing the number of female cows, Herman said.
Australia suspended its exports of live cattle after 11 Indonesian slaughterhouses were featured on a television program that showed steers being whipped and bleeding to death after their throats were cut.
Herman dismissed the notion that animal cruelty had occurred at the slaughterhouses.
“[Australia] said [the slaughterhouses’ ways] were inhumane, but that’s the way to kill [an animal]. What other ways are there?” he said. Source by www. the Jakarta post edition june 1.2011)