June 11th, 20190Financially troubled Australian livestock exporter Wellard may be forced to sell one of its ships after it defaulted on debt payments today. The company said today it was looking at ways of restructuring its balance sheet, including the possibility of selling a vessel. Earlier this month it was revealed Mauro Balzarino, the founder...
June 3rd, 20190Australia’s top livestock shipping company is changing management. Mauro Balzarino, the founder and CEO of Wellard for the past 15 years, has stepped down as chief executive, but remains a non-executive director. Amid tough financial conditions, Balzarini had effectively handed over day-to-day management of Wellard to executive...
March 25th, 20191Livestock carriers have the oldest age profile in deepsea shipping. The sulphur cap should ensure many of them find their way to beaches in South Asia soon, writes Dr Lynn Simpson. Another day of ovine gridlock on a sheep ship. No indicators, no brake lights, no problem; nowhere to go. Images like this will soon be historical. Why?...
February 13th, 20190Regular livestock contributor Dr Lynn Simpson makes her 2019 debut warning there’s still plenty to fix in this trade. Where to start? A quick update of current live export issues in Australia will help. April 2018, video footage from five voyages on the Awassi Express was shown on ‘60 Minutes’. The footage, filmed by a...
December 11th, 20181The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has withdrawn the Australian Certificate for the Carriage of Livestock (ACCL) for the livestock carrier, , after the ship suffered high profile stability issues while carrying thousands of animals. The ship has been unable to leave Australia for weeks after it was forced to return to port...
November 23rd, 20185In another setback for the Australian livestock exporting community a ship carrying more than 4,300 cows was detained today after it suffered severe rocking from side-to-side as it started a voyage to the Middle East. The ’s departure from the port of Portland, in Victoria’s southwest, bound for Muscat in Oman was captured on...
November 7th, 20181Dr Lynn Simpson gives her verdict on the Moss review looking into Australia's Live Animal Export industry. Several months late the government has finally released the Moss review. Akin to waiting for a deadbeat kid to give their parents a damning, school report card. Philip Moss was tasked with investigating the true culture of...
August 22nd, 20184Dr Lynn Simpson reports on a remarkable day as the livestock trades edge ever closer to oblivion. After decades of failed regulation, Australia’s largest exporter of sheep has had its licence permanently cancelled by the Australian Department of Agriculture. Today, it was announced that Emanuel Exports can no longer export live...
August 16th, 20186Dr Lynn Simpson reports on the pullback from live animal exports seen across the world in recent months. Too many animals have died at sea during ‘live’ export; no sane person could dispute that. Now the global trade is on a terminal trajectory. We live in a more enlightened time. As such we are witnessing the well overdue...
August 13th, 20180Splash’s livestock expert Dr Lynn Simpson, whose searing articles for this site have helped bring change to the sector, has a new podcast series. Simpson, who worked as a vet onboard livestock carriers heading out of Australia for a number of years, has become one of the most famous whistleblowers in the sector, which is now facing...
