Australia's Live Sheep Export Phase-Out: A Welfare Policy in Progress

Australia announced the phase-out of live sheep export to the Middle East in 2023, following decades of welfare controversy. The reform is a landmark for farmed animal policy worldwide.

Key Facts

Australia was the world's largest exporter of live sheep; approximately 2.5–3 million sheep were exported annually to Middle Eastern countries including Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain.
Multiple welfare scandals, including footage of sheep dying in extreme heat on vessels and mass mortality events, drove sustained public pressure for reform over two decades.
The May–October moratorium on northern summer exports (introduced in 2019) reduced but did not eliminate welfare incidents on vessels in extreme heat.
The Albanese government announced in 2023 that live sheep export would be phased out by May 2028, with compensation for affected industry participants.
The phase-out affects approximately 3 million sheep annually, with transition support for producers to shift to domestic processing and chilled meat export.
The New Zealand government banned live sheep export in 2023; the EU has active debates about reform of its own live animal export regulations.

Welfare Considerations

The live sheep export welfare case rested on documented, unavoidable suffering: heat stress on vessels in the Middle East summer causing deaths from respiratory failure; overcrowding preventing normal resting and feeding; disease transmission in closed vessel environments; and animals arriving at destinations to slaughter without the welfare protections present in Australian facilities. The two-decade campaign for reform demonstrates that sustained, evidence-based advocacy by welfare organisations — combined with media documentation of welfare failures — can achieve major policy change. The Australian phase-out is a landmark for farmed animal welfare policy that will spare millions of animals from avoidable suffering when fully implemented.

What You Can Do

Support the phase-out implementation and advocate against any weakening or reversal of the 2028 timeline.
Engage producer groups and politicians in your country about applying similar evidence-based reform to live export regulations.
Support RSPCA Australia, Animals Australia, and World Animal Protection in ongoing monitoring of the phase-out process.
Advocate for the EU to implement equivalent restrictions on long-distance live animal transport to non-EU countries.
Recognise this policy win as evidence that sustained, patient advocacy for animal welfare can produce transformative results.