Live Sheep Export Research Articles

Economic Analysis of Factors Affecting Sudanese Live Sheep Exports to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The major objective of this paper was to analyze the effects offactors responsible for the exported quantity of Sudanese live sheep to themarket of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). For this end, data onexported quantities, import prices, competitors' prices, exchange rate andSaudi chilled mutton imports was used. Multiple regression analysis wasused for estimating the effect of these factors via a transformedgeneralized Cobb-Douglas function. Among the four hypothesizedvariables, only import price and exchange rate were having significanteffect on exported live sheep quantities. Consistent with the economiclogic, the former was having an elastic effect while the latter had aninelastic effect. The other two variables with insignificant effect werecompetitors' price and KSA imported chilled mutton. All four variablesexerted increasing returns to scale to the Sudanese exported live sheepquantity. To increase live sheep exports to the Saudi market, the paperrecommends improvement of quality control measures, reduction ofproduction cost as well as minimizing the tax margins levied by thedifferent local governments involved, adopting long term contracts infuture markets and have Sudan Central Bank adopt exchange rate policymeasures to encourage investments in this foreign trade business.

The impact of live sheep export trade on the South Africa economy

<abstract> <p>The study assesses the impact of the live sheep export trade on the South African economy. The study used a recent South African Social Accounting Matrix and a partial equilibrium model. The results are mixed. On a positive note, the higher the demand for live sheep exports, the higher the prices and the more significant the economic impact. On the other hand, South Africa loses value-adding opportunities such as output from abattoirs, including hides and skin, offal, head, and consumable internal organs, and employment when live lambs are exported and slaughtered in destination markets. These findings help policymakers to develop appropriate mitigation strategies to balance the advantages and disadvantages of live sheep export. A nationwide analysis may miss some of the local costs and benefits of live sheep exports. Future research can also be done in selected major areas that produce sheep in South Africa.</p> </abstract>

Competitiveness of the Sudan Live Sheep Exports in the Saudi Market

The strong and growing demand for live sheep in the Saudi market enhanced the state of competition among the exporting countries of Sudan, Syria, Jordan, Romania, Australia, New Zealand and others.The aim of this paper was to assess the competitiveness of the Sudanese live sheep exports in the Saudi market vis-à-vis the competitors. Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) analytical approach was applied toachieve the paper objective. Data from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations International Trade Statistics Yearbook (UNITS), for the period 1992- 2013, were used to calculate the RCA index. The results showed an increasing trend in the market share of Sudanese live sheep in the world market, despite the clear fluctuations, as it increased from 4% in 1992 to 22% in 2013. Also, the results of the calculated RCA index for live sheepexports indicated that Sudan had a revealed comparative advantage as a major exporter of this commodity compared to other competitors (RCA>100) as well as a comparative advantage over the other Sudaneseexport commodities. Such comparative advantage was due to low relative costs of production, dependence on natural grazing and differences in non-price factors. This is regardless of the fluctuations in the RCA index in some years. Based on the findings, the paper recommends giving priority in the strategy for promoting live sheep exports through, for example, revoking all types of taxes levied on animals moved from areas of production en-route to export outlets, improving the infrastructure suchas establishing modern quarantines and stringent health measures. These measures would strengthen and enhance the revealed comparative advantage. Moreover, the revealed strong competitive advantage should be exploited to promote the Sudanese live sheep in international markets in general and the Saudi market in particular.

Accounting for Animal Welfare: Addressing Epistemic Vices During Live Sheep Export Voyages

Accounting for Animal Welfare: Addressing Epistemic Vices During Live Sheep Export Voyages

Non-Invasive Sheep Biometrics Obtained by Computer Vision Algorithms and Machine Learning Modeling Using Integrated Visible/Infrared Thermal Cameras.

Live sheep export has become a public concern. This study aimed to test a non-contact biometric system based on artificial intelligence to assess heat stress of sheep to be potentially used as automated animal welfare assessment in farms and while in transport. Skin temperature (°C) from head features were extracted from infrared thermal videos (IRTV) using automated tracking algorithms. Two parameter engineering procedures from RGB videos were performed to assess Heart Rate (HR) in beats per minute (BPM) and respiration rate (RR) in breaths per minute (BrPM): (i) using changes in luminosity of the green (G) channel and (ii) changes in the green to red (a) from the CIELAB color scale. A supervised machine learning (ML) classification model was developed using raw RR parameters as inputs to classify cutoff frequencies for low, medium, and high respiration rate (Model 1). A supervised ML regression model was developed using raw HR and RR parameters from Model 1 (Model 2). Results showed that Models 1 and 2 were highly accurate in the estimation of RR frequency level with 96% overall accuracy (Model 1), and HR and RR with R = 0.94 and slope = 0.76 (Model 2) without statistical signs of overfitting

Our Cows and Whales

Our Cows and Whales

The live sheep export supply chain: when operational and societal complexities collide

The live sheep export supply chain: when operational and societal complexities collide

The live sheep export supply chain: when operational and societal complexities collide

This paper takes a supply chain perspective on the business systems involved in the trade of live sheep from Australia to the Middle East. Live export supply chains are complex as they must encompass efficiency, maintenance of quality and adhere to international animal welfare protocols. This paper explores the consequences resulting from business systems' failure, based on a case study from 2012 when protocols in the international trade of live sheep were compromised. Key themes to emerge from the case study relate to supply chain control and resilience, the moral obligations of governments to manage societal exposure to unsafe food and the management of unscrupulous operators in the food supply chain. The originality of this work lies in its consideration of 'live cargo' and the challenges of unforeseen circumstances in managing the physical distribution of live animals transported by sea.

Development of an effective sampling strategy for ammonia, temperature and relative humidity measurement during sheep transport by ship

Ammonia, high temperature and high humidity have adverse effects on animals during long distance livestock export from Australia to the Middle East, but none of these is effectively measured currently. On the basis of data maps obtained on two voyages of live sheep export, this study determined sampling strategies for ammonia, temperature and humidity measurement on the vessel. The difference between predicted high and low ammonia sites on the shipment could be detected with approximately 5 measurement sites of each. Margins of error were determined, which suggested that dry bulb temperature could be measured with 6–8 measurement sites, but even 20 measurement sites were not sufficient to measure relative humidity. For the vessel recorded, considerably more ammonia measurement sites are required on closed decks than on open decks, with less variation for temperature measurement. The number of pens measured contributed more to the variance of ammonia and temperature measurement than the number of sampling locations within each pen on open decks. This study highlights the importance of a suitable sampling strategy to measure ammonia, temperature and relative humidity on board ship during live export.

Polymorphisms of the prion protein gene in sheep of Inner Mongolia, China

Polymorphisms of the prion protein gene (Prnp), especially the amino acid residue alterations at codons 136, 154, and 174, in sheep have been found to be associated with susceptibility to scrapie disease. We investigated Prnp polymorphisms in three local sheep breeds in Inner Mongolia, China. Blood samples were collected from 46 Ujumqin, 34 Sunite, and 22 Mongolian sheep. The genetic DNA of blood samples was extracted, amplified and sequenced, and amino acid alignment was determined. Polymorphisms were detected at 8 codons, among which M157I, Q220H, and R223K have not been previously reported. The frequency of the amino acid residues ARQ/ARQ at codons 136, 154, and 171, respectively, which is associated with medium-high susceptibility to scrapie, was 74.5%, and the frequency of scrapie-resistant genotype ARR/ARR was 7.9%. The highly susceptible genotype VRQ/VRQ at these codons as not detected from the tested sheep. Of the three sheep breeds, Ujumqin sheep had the highest frequency (15.2%) of scrapie-resistant amino acid sequence, ARR/ARR at codons 136, 154, and 171, respectively, accounting for 87.5% sheep that carry these polymorphisms. Our findings are of special importance for both live sheep export and sheep breeding.

Composition of the National Sheep Flock and Specification of Equilibrium Prices and Quantities for the Australian Sheep and Wool Industries, 2002-03 to 2004-05

The data used, and the methods and assumptions fundamental to the development of an equilibrium displacement model (EDM) of the Australian sheep and wool industries specified in Mounter et al. (2007), are contained in this report. The national sheep flock is disaggregated into Merino and non-Merino sheep in the three agricultural zones of Australia using 2002-03 Australian agricultural and grazing industries survey data. Opening and closing sheep numbers, death rates and weaning percentages were used to derive the supply and use of sheep in each zone. Annual shorn wool production was split into four fibre-diameter categories in each zone corresponding to ABS wool export categories. Wool production percentages and relative greasy fleece weights were used to estimate the quantities of wool attributable to ewes, wethers and hoggets in each zone. Estimates were also constructed of lamb, mutton and live sheep export volumes produced from the different sheep enterprises in each agricultural zone. As the flock composition data are based on 2002-03 figures, aggregate production and export data for 2002-03 were used to validate the methods involved in deriving the disaggregated production estimates. The data in the EDM of the Australian sheep and wool industries by Mounter et al. (2007) are average annual values for the years 2002-03 to 2004-05. The methods and assumptions used in specifying the data are the same as those used in obtaining the disaggregated 2002-03 estimates. In some cases, where data did not exist, estimated values were calculated.

Lamb production from Merino ewes mated to Merino or Damara rams

Damara sheep have recently been imported to Australia and are being crossed with Merino ewes as a diversification from wool to fat tail sheep production for live sheep export or meat markets. A comparison was made of the lamb outputs from Merino ewes mated to 2 Merino rams and 2 Damara fat tail rams. There were more multiple litters produced in the matings with the Damara rams than from the Merino rams (P = 0.01). The 5-month weights of the crossbred lamb groups (36.3 and 38.9 kg) were higher (P<0.05) than the Merino groups (33.4 and 32.3 kg). Ram lambs were slaughtered at 7 months of age and the carcasses dissected into 'trim lamb' lean portions, fat trims, bone and other oddments. Dressing percentage at slaughter of the crossbred lambs was 3–4% higher (P<0.001), reflecting lower wool production, than the Merino lambs. After adjustment for chilled carcass weight, there were no differences (P>0.05) between rams for the total amount of lean meat. However, the crossbred groups had more external carcass fat (2.59 and 2.64 kg) than the Merino groups (2.14 and 2.15 kg) and, in addition, had fat tail weights of 0.52 and 0.36 kg.

Contagious ecthyma in the live sheep export industry.

To investigate control options for contagious ecthyma (scabby mouth) in Australian sheep exported live to the Middle East. Prevalence, vaccination and modelling studies. One hundred and forty weaner sheep (less than 1 year old) on each of 106 farms in Western Australia (WA) and 18 farm groups of adult wethers received at a WA commercial feedlot were examined for lesions of scabby mouth. Sheep on a total of 26 farms in 3 States were divided into treatment and control groups for the vaccination study. A simple deterministic compartmental model was developed to establish which parameters had the greater effect on disease prevalence. The proportion of farms with evidence of scabby mouth in weaner sheep was 23.6% and, on those farms with the disease, the overall prevalence was 6.1%. At the feedlot, 4 out of 18 farm groups had 5 or more sheep with lesions on arrival. The overall prevalence in the 4 diseased groups was 5.2%. Sheep vaccinated on farm before trucking to the feedlot had a lower prevalence of scabby mouth at the end of simulated shipping than controls. The main determinant of scabby mouth prevalence was the proportion of sheep immune to the disease. A program of vaccination for scabby mouth will reduce the prevalence of disease during live export. However, using current technology it is not possible to deliver shipments of sheep to the Middle East that are guaranteed completely free of scabby mouth.

Inanition, stress and immunity in the expression of salmonellosis in the live sheep export industry

Abstract Extract Australian workers(1) have demonstrated that infectious challenge per se is insufficient for the development of pathological lesions of salmonellosis in sheep in all but a few cases. Inanition is the major risk factor(1).

Whey Disposal: Recovery of Nutrients for Animal Feeding

It has been estimated that over 50% of whey production world wide constitutes a pollution problem to the environment. A proportion of the work carried out to make use of whey nutrients has not been commercially viable. A simple process has been developed, at the laboratory and pilot plant scales, resulting in a complete recovery of nutrients from whole whey or whey fractions for animal feeding and no further waste or effluent is generated. The economics of the proposed process rely on efficient use of inexpensive ingredients (or waste materials, from other agricultural sources) to overcome the high cost of dewatering and drying. Using this approach a number of products are possible. In the first product bentonite is used to precipitate whey protein which can be processed into a dry protein concentrate for use in intensive animal, poultry or fish production. This product compares favourably with conventional protein supplements such as meat and bone, soybean, or fish meal. The deproteinised whey, (mainly lactose and minerals) arising from this process, is concentrated and mixed with a carrier to produce a second product for ruminants that can compete with hay or grains. Further, whole whey may be used in a similar process. Animal feeding trials with sheep and dairy cattle have demonstrated advantages of the developed whey products over conventional feed supplements for wool growth, live sheep export or milk production.

Deaths in sheep exported by sea from Western Australia--analysis of ship Master's reports.

Mortality reports were studied for 181 shipments of live sheep from Western Australia to the Middle East and Singapore in 1985 and 1986. Samples of pelleted feed for 93 shipments were analysed for quality. Overall death rate in the 6.46 million sheep exported in the period of the study was 2.18%. In sheep bound for the Middle East, most of the deaths occurred during the voyage (overall rate 1.7%, range 0.4-4.4% per shipment), although substantial mortality was recorded during discharge (rate 0.4%, range 0.0-1.8%). There were few deaths during loading (rate 0.07%, range 0.0-0.8%). Deaths in sheep bound for Singapore were almost 10-fold lower than those sent to the Middle East. Several findings suggested that ship design and management may contribute to mortality. Death rates were invariably low on some ships and often high on others. Death rates were nearly always higher in enclosed decks than in open decks on 4 vessels, and point epidemics of mortality were observed in several shipments. Temperature and relative humidity measured on the ship's bridge were not closely related to daily death rate. Antibiotics estimated to cost $226,000 were used during 33 voyages in 1986 and were considered of dubious efficacy on shipboard mortality. Analysis of feed pellets used on ship showed that the quality of the diet was within the range set by draft national standards for pellets used in the live sheep export industry.

Live sheep exports

Abstract Extract Madam:– The policy of the N .Z. V .A. in this matter of live sheep exports seems to have a very shaky foundation in either logic or ethics.