Cattle industry devastated by closure of Kimberley Meat Company amid animal welfare concerns and $103m debt

  • 📰 abcnews
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 73 sec. here
  • 12 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 63%
  • Publisher: 83%

Cattle Industry News

Kimberley Cattle Industry,Yeeda Pastoral Company,Kimberley Meat Company

Allegations of animal welfare issues and financial mismanagement have plagued the Kimberley Meat Company for nearly a decade. Now it has shut down owing $103 million.

The cattle that move through the Kimberley's well-worn dirt arteries represent millions of dollars and every animal counts.With those, come secrets.He knows the challenges of the industry intimately.

It was a trusted employer for some of the region’s most disadvantaged communities and, for local cattle stations, a godsend. At a time when the industry was still recovering from the short-lived 2011 live export ban, the opening of the abattoir was an important step towards economic resilience."The pastoral industry in northern Western Australia has got a long history. It's been an economic driver over a number of years," Mr Stoate says.

Scrub bulls are wild animals and are not used to being in the confined spaces of domestic cattle yards for a period of days, let alone months. While the animal welfare issues were kept under wraps by tight non-disclosure agreements, the money eventually began to talk.With $103 million owing from the Kimberley region's coffers, everyone from local tradespeople, stations and contract musterers were left out of pocket.Queensland-based lawyer Dan Creevey acted for one small family-run business that is yet to be paid millions.

"We … do not believe the provisions under safe harbour would be a defence available to its directors."A spokesperson for the WA Minister for Agriculture Jackie Jarvis, and for the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, declined to answer the ABC's questions, both saying it was a matter for administrators.For pastoralists like Mr Stoate, the abattoir has left its mark on the Kimberley industry.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 5. in İE

Ireland Ireland Latest News, Ireland Ireland Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Farm-to-plate producers without meat processor as Dardanup Butchering Company halts slaughtering serviceOne of Western Australia's largest butchers tells farmers it will no longer process their meat, effectively freezing some out of the state's farm-to-plate market.
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »