{"id":86930,"date":"2019-04-03T13:49:28","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T20:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=86930"},"modified":"2019-04-03T13:49:28","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T20:49:28","slug":"australian-cattle-exported-to-sri-lanka-dying-and-malnourished-local-farmers-left-suicidal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/04\/03\/australian-cattle-exported-to-sri-lanka-dying-and-malnourished-local-farmers-left-suicidal\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian cattle exported to Sri Lanka dying and malnourished, local farmers left suicidal"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><em>Exclusive by\u00a0<a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/lorna-knowles\/5632058\">Lorna Knowles<\/a>, ABC Investigations and\u00a0<a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/siobhan-heanue\/166962\">Siobhan Heanue<\/a>, South Asia correspondent Courtesy ABC News<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/back-haunches-of-cows-in-sri-lanka-with-bones-showing-through-h\/10962322\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10936182-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"Back haunches of cows in Sri Lanka with bones showing through hide.\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/back-haunches-of-cows-in-sri-lanka-with-bones-showing-through-h\/10962322\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Cows on Lammermoor Estate in Sri Lanka were part of the Australian export program.&nbsp;(ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/rural\/2012-01-30\/aus-jerseys-hand-picked-for-sri-lanka\/6314592\"><strong>RELATED STORY:<\/strong>&nbsp;Aus jerseys hand-picked for Sri Lanka<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hundreds of Australian and New Zealand cattle have died in a Federal Government-backed export deal with Sri Lanka, which local farmers say has left them broke, and in some cases, suicidal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key points:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>About 500 Australian and New Zealand dairy cows have died after being shipped to Sri Lanka<\/li><li>The scheme was underwritten by an Australian Government loan of $100 million<\/li><li>The Sri Lankan auditor-general says the cows aren&#8217;t thriving because of climatic conditions and disease, and the scheme should be shut down<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Farmers and animal rights groups, as well as Sri Lanka&#8217;s own auditor-general, want the export project stopped because they say it is poorly planned and inhumane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The scheme was devised to improve the supply of fresh milk in Sri Lanka and reduce the country&#8217;s reliance on expensive, imported powdered milk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Angry Sri Lankan farmers have told the ABC the &#8220;high-yielding, pregnant dairy cows&#8221; they were promised were overpriced, unhealthy and infertile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They said 10 per cent of the 5,000 cattle imported so far had died and many were diseased.<strong>Do you know more about this story? Email&nbsp;<a href=\"mailto:investigations@abc.net.au\">investigations@abc.net.au<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Wellard, the West Australian live export company contracted to ship the cows to Sri Lanka and help establish the dairy farms, said the mortality rate was closer to 9 per cent but overall the scheme was a success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company said only a &#8220;handful&#8221; of the 68 farmers selected to receive the cattle had experienced problems because they had ignored herd management advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/a-calf-is-sprawled-on-the-concrete-with-its-legs-askew-in-sri-l\/10962330\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10936530-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"A calf is sprawled on the concrete with its legs askew in Sri Lanka.\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/a-calf-is-sprawled-on-the-concrete-with-its-legs-askew-in-sri-l\/10962330\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;One farmer said 180 calves born to cows in the program died.&nbsp;(ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8216;I have a cemetery, not a farm&#8217;<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>The ABC has been contacted by multiple farmers, as well as the Ceylon Cattle Farmers Federation, to raise concerns about the scheme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Amal Suriyage, who bought 200 cows last year, said the animals were in poor condition when they arrived in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;My staff said it looks like they have not come from Australia. Looks like they come from Ethiopia,&#8221; Mr Suriyage said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/amal-suriyage-owns-a-dairy-farm-in-lammermoor-estate-in-hapugas\/10962532\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10962264-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"Amal Suriyage speaks with his farm manager, next to a weighing machine.\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/amal-suriyage-owns-a-dairy-farm-in-lammermoor-estate-in-hapugas\/10962532\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Amal Suriyage owns a dairy farm in Lammermoor Estate in Hapugastenne 48 miles from Kandy in central Sri Lanka.&nbsp;(ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said he lost about 160 cows on his Lammermoor Estate dairy farm, and another 180 calves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said he would be forced to cull the remaining 40 cows because some had the highly contagious disease Mycoplasma bovis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;What I have now are carcasses of those dead cows and calves. I think I have a cemetery, not a farm anymore,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>&#8220;I feel ashamed to even mention that a country like Australia got involved in this mess.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/a-close-up-of-a-dead-cow-in-a-pit-in-sri-lanka-1\/10962326\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10936002-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"A close up of a dead cow in a pit in Sri Lanka.\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/a-close-up-of-a-dead-cow-in-a-pit-in-sri-lanka-1\/10962326\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;One of Mr&nbsp;Suriyage&#8217;s&nbsp;cows is buried on the farm.&nbsp;(ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sri Lankan business consultant Mohammed Mausook Riyal told the ABC the cows were the wrong breed for the climate, making them susceptible to disease, and farmers could not make a profit because of poor milk yield and low conception rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some farmers were suicidal because they mortgaged their assets to buy the cows and now the banks were foreclosing on their properties, Mr Mohammed said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said each cow cost almost double what it was worth, with investors paying 200,000 Sri Lankan rupees (A$1,620) instead of 120,000 Sri Lankan rupees (A$974) per cow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/a-dead-cow-is-dragged-along-behind-a-truck-on-lammermoor-estate\/10962502\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10962414-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"A dead cow is dragged along behind a truck on Lammermoor Estate.\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/a-dead-cow-is-dragged-along-behind-a-truck-on-lammermoor-estate\/10962502\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;About 160 cows on Lammermoor Estate have died.&nbsp;(ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Farmers were told each cow would produce 20 litres per day when they are only producing 10-15 litres per day,&#8221; Mr Mohammed said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said the milk was selling for less than promised, and a special imported feed the cows needed turned out to cost more than double what they were told it would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He spoke of one farmer who committed suicide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;All of them have lost their dreams,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;They do not know their next step in life. They have lost everything.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/an-australian-cow-with-material-running-from-its-eye-in-sri-lan\/10962370\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10936268-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"An Australian cow with material running from its eye in Sri Lanka.\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/an-australian-cow-with-material-running-from-its-eye-in-sri-lan\/10962370\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;The surviving cattle on Lammermoor Estate will be euthanased.&nbsp;(ABC News Siobhan Heanue)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Cattle inspected by vets, pregnant when they left: Wellard<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Wellard executive chairman John Klepec said climatic conditions in Sri Lanka were not dissimilar to other tropical areas where dairy programs had been successfully implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been to one personally myself where the output of the dairy cattle are double what we experience here in Australia,&#8221; Mr Klepec said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said the animals were inspected by Australian and New Zealand vets before export, and Sri Lankan vets certified them as disease-free when they were delivered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;They were all passed fit for purpose, and in terms of the pregnancy issue, all the dairy heifers were signed off as pregnant when they went onto the ship,&#8221; Mr Klepec said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;What happens post delivery of the cattle is subject to the farm management. Poor farm management practices will produce poor outcomes.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said a small &#8220;recalcitrant&#8221; group of farmers had refused to follow the advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/lammermoor-estate-dairy-farm-manager-malik-gunasekaran-malik-is\/10962356\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10962342-3x4-340x453.jpg\" alt=\"Lammermoor Estate dairy farm manager Malik Gunasekaran Malik is headbutted by a cow as he strokes her neck.\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/lammermoor-estate-dairy-farm-manager-malik-gunasekaran-malik-is\/10962356\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Lammermoor Estate dairy farm manager Malik Gunasekaran with one of the cows that will be euthanased.&nbsp;(ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The specific mortality rate that you&#8217;re referring to on that particular farm \u2026 accounts for the large amount of abnormal deaths that occurred on the second shipment,&#8221; Mr Klepec said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re proud to be involved in a program that delivers the human welfare outcome that this program has to date \u2014 84 million litres of milk has been produced.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the deal, Wellard was contracted to import 20,000 dairy cows to Sri Lanka between 2012 and 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It has already shipped 5,000 and is planning to ship the remaining 15,000 in the next 12 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the terms of the project, underwritten by the Australian Government&#8217;s export credit agency, EFIC, Wellard was required to provide Sri Lankan farmers with facilities, training and veterinary support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a statement, EFIC said it provided a credit facility to the Sri Lankan Government to fund the purchase of dairy cattle, but had no relationship with the individual farmers who purchased the cattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;EFIC provided the facility after the transaction was deemed to meet the necessary International Finance Corporation&#8217;s Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines,&#8221; the statement said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The cattle were also inspected and certified by Australian authorities and accepted by veterinarians from the Sri Lankan Government before departure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The Sri Lankan Government has responsibility for the program after the cattle arrive in Sri Lanka.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sri Lankan auditor-general calls for program halt<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/australian-dairy-cattle-on-lammermoor-estate-in-sri-lanka-1\/10966420\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10962296-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"Australian dairy cattle stick their heads through a metal fence, with mountains in the background.\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/australian-dairy-cattle-on-lammermoor-estate-in-sri-lanka-1\/10966420\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Animals Australia says no more Australian cows should be shipped to Sri Lanka under this program.&nbsp;(ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ceylon Cattle Farmers Federation said farmers received no training or workshops and only received a small leaflet without any technical advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a damning report published in May, Sri Lankan auditor-general Gamini Wijesinghe described the project as an &#8220;unbearable burden to the Government&#8221;, and said project planners had misled farmers, who had suffered &#8220;financial difficulty and mental distress&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr Wijesinghe found imported dairy cows were not suited to the dry conditions in rural Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said their life spans were short, their fertility rate low and they were highly vulnerable to disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The report said many cows and calves had died, were diseased or were languishing in poor conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr Wijesinghe noted that as far back as 2008, the Sri Lankan Planning Department found that imported cows were &#8220;climatically unfit&#8221; for Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/tim-vasudeva-animals-australia-1\/10966390\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10963604-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"Tim Vasudeva, wearing glasses, suit and tie, stands in front of wall with the words 'Be the change you wish to see in the world'\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/tim-vasudeva-animals-australia-1\/10966390\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Tim Vasudeva from Animals Australia wants the export program halted.&nbsp;(ABC News: Jeremy Story Carter)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Animals Australia spokesman Tim Vasudeva said the scheme must be stopped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s been, from what we can see, a fairly unmitigated disaster from a human and animal welfare perspective,&#8221; Mr Vasudeva said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr Vasudeva said the situation highlighted the need for changes to welfare standards for live export cattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We do have formal frameworks for the export of cattle for slaughter, but not for dairy and breeder cattle,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;So basically that means those welfare protections just aren&#8217;t there.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ceylon Cattle Farmers Association also wants the scheme stopped and farmers to be given refunds and reimbursed for their losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/lammermoor-estate-dairy-farm-manager-malik-gunasekaran-strokes\/10962328\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/image\/10959964-3x2-700x467.jpg\" alt=\"Lammermoor Estate dairy farm manager Malik Gunasekaran strokes the nose of a cow.\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-04-04\/lammermoor-estate-dairy-farm-manager-malik-gunasekaran-strokes\/10962328\"><strong>PHOTO:<\/strong>&nbsp;Lammermoor Estate dairy farm manager Malik Gunasekaran with one of his cows.&nbsp;(ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Topics:<\/strong>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/topic\/livestock\">livestock<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/topic\/rural\">rural<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/topic\/dairy-production\">dairy-production<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/topic\/sri-lanka\">sri-lanka<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/topic\/australia\">australia<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Exclusive by\u00a0Lorna Knowles, ABC Investigations and\u00a0Siobhan Heanue, South Asia correspondent Courtesy ABC News PHOTO:&nbsp;Cows on Lammermoor Estate in Sri Lanka were part of the Australian export program.&nbsp;(ABC News: Siobhan Heanue)RELATED STORY:&nbsp;Aus jerseys hand-picked for Sri Lanka Hundreds of Australian and New Zealand cattle have died in a Federal Government-backed export deal with Sri Lanka, which [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[153],"class_list":["post-86930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","tag-australian-cattle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86930\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}