A FOUNDING member of one of Fremantle’s landmark activist groups says the sheep aboard the MV Bahijah will be experiencing unimaginable cruelty.

John Spencer was one of an initially small group of Fremantle folk who formed People Against Cruelty in Animal Transport in the early 1990s when the industry was in a truly grim state.

“One precipitating event was when a truckload of sheep overturned near Toodyay and they simply shot them there and then,” Dr Spencer recalled.

“This cruel transportation commenced in the paddocks of the state and sheep were herded into large trucks and transported to Fremantle and it was not uncommon to see these over-loaded trucks with sheep; some with their limbs hanging out through the gaps in the slats.”

This very visible side of the trade helped swell the organisation’s membership rapidly and its protests started hitting the headlines. At its peak, the Fremantle Traffic Bridge would be filled from end-to-end with flag-waving marchers. 

Dr Spencer said PACAT had some early wins in convincing transport companies and farmers of the cruelty the sheep faced in transit, which resulted in some modifications to the system.

But digging further into what happened after the sheep left Australia’s shores, PACAT discovered the cramped and hot conditions they faced on the long journey to the Middle East, which resulted in many perishing along the way. Their bodies were simply hauled overboard.

The evidence PACAT gathered forced authorities to investigate and their reports forced them to impose new restrictions; vets had to accompany the animals on voyages, crowding was reduced, reporting procedures were tightened, trips were restricted to the cooler months in the Middle East, and now the industry looks like it’s heading for the knackers with the Albanese government reaffirming its commitment to bring it to an end.

But Dr Spencer can’t believe the trade continues despite the growing evidence about what animals suffer.

“Sheep like humans are mammals, and their brains are 90 per cent similar to ours,” he said.

“As such they experience pain, fear, apprehension and anxiety.

“They are sentient creatures and have feelings.

“The live sheep trade is parallel to the 18th century slave trade which we now recall with shame and guilt.

“How long will it be before the people and policy makers of Fremantle and Western Australia recognise the horrors and inhumanithy of the live sheep trade and abolish it to history and the annals of our past,” Dr Spencer said.