A ship transporting thousands of sheep and cattle spent nearly a month at sea before returning to a West Australian port and waiting to see if the animals can be re-exported. The MV Bahijah set sail for the Middle East from Fremantle on Jan. 5, carrying about 16,500 livestock, before being ordered to abandon its voyage due to Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea.
Upon returning to Australian waters, the animals have remained on the vessel, raising concerns about their welfare while authorities consider an application to send them on another even longer journey for export. The ship docked in Fremantle Port on Feb. 2 and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry stated that it was taking on provisions, including fodder and fuel, with the exporter’s veterinarian monitoring the animals’ health and welfare.
Adam Fennessy, the department’s Secretary, assured the public that Australia’s biosecurity and the health and welfare of the livestock aboard are top priorities. Furthermore, the department announced on Feb. 2 that it had agreed to a request from the exporter for several hundred healthy cattle to be unloaded from the vessel, under strict biosecurity measures.
The animals may be at sea for another month if they are re-exported, as the MV Bahijah would sail around Africa to access Jordan via the Suez Canal, avoiding the Middle East conflict zone. Additionally, animal rights groups Let the Animals Live and Animals Now have reportedly filed legal proceedings in Israel’s Central Region District Court against the nation’s agriculture ministry to stop the ship from exporting its cargo into Israel.