A NATIONAL survey on community attitudes toward livestock exports indicated the Federal Government did not have a mandate to shut down the live sheep trade by sea, an industry leader has claimed.

The latest Voconiq survey asked respondents about the relative costs and benefits of live exports, with 76 percent agreeing the benefits either outweigh (41pc), or are equal to (35pc), the costs – the highest level since surveys began in 2019.

The survey also showed a significant increase in the number of people wanting to know more about live exports and that Australians overwhelmingly signalled they wanted a more balanced accounting of live export issues from the media.

The results have been seized on by the peak industry body, the Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council, as proving the live sheep trade ban by 1 May 2028 was unjustified.

ALEC CEO Mark Harvey-Sutton speaks at a Keep The Sheep rally in Perth.

ALEC chief executive officer Mark Harvey-Sutton told Sheep Central he believed the survey showed the Federal Government does not have a mandate to shot down the live sheep trade.

Mr Harvey-Sutton said the results underscored what the industry had known for a long time.

“We know that the community holds balanced and nuanced views on live exports.

“They understand that the measures exporters put in place together with Australia’s regulatory requirements, is why Australia has the best animal welfare in the world,” he said.

“They also understand that the Labor Government’s punitive ban on live sheep will hurt farmers, truckies and small businesses, particularly in Western Australia, and that it is manifestly unfair,” he said.

Mr Harvey-Sutton said the fact that 76% of survey respondents agreed that ‘the benefits of the industry are equal to or outweigh the costs of live export’ indicated people see the need for live exports as part of Australia’s sheep industry.

The community also acknowledges the important role the industry plays in our trading partners’ food security, with 64pc of respondents agreeing that the trade improved diet and nutrition in our markets,” ALEC said.

“The increase in community sentiment here puts the government’s tired line about ‘support for the ban’ to bed.

“It’s simply not true and this survey is further evidence toward that,” Mr Harvey-Sutton said.

“Combined with the overwhelming support for Keep the Sheep, the latest results from this survey demonstrate that the community sees the need for the industry to continue and will support us in the face of activist-driven policies.”

Positive sentiment to industry is growing – Voconiq

Voconiq said the six-year project has collected the most authoritative and comprehensive dataset on Australian attitudes toward the livestock export industry, funded by the research bodies for livestock exporters and producers, LiveCorp and Meat & Livestock Australia.

Voconiq CEO Kieren Moffat said one of the key findings was a significant jump in the number of people wanting to know more about live exports.

“We introduced new questions in 2024 to examine where people got most of their information about the industry, how much they trusted that information, and whether it affected their views,” he said.

“Between the two surveys, the number of people reporting that they were actively seeking out information about live exports increased considerably.

“Australians also overwhelmingly signalled they want a more balanced accounting of live export issues from the media,” Dr Moffat said.

Key focus areas in the series of surveys are the extent to which the Australian community has trust in, and accepts, livestock exports.

“Positive sentiment toward the industry has been growing since the first survey in 2019.

“While both trust and acceptance dipped in the anchor survey, they rebounded in the pulse survey to the highest levels seen in this program of work,” Dr Moffat said.

Animal welfare remains one of the key drivers of trust and acceptance of the industry, and Dr Moffat said there were mixed results on a range of questions, with participants acknowledging it is a complex issue.

“There continues to be strong recognition of the importance of the industry to communities overseas, including their access to safe meat and better nutrition,” he said.

LiveCorp CEO Wayne Collier said the results show the Australian community thinks about livestock exports very differently to the way it is portrayed by many, particularly on social media.

“It’s really pleasing to see that people are open to learning more about the industry and its performance, and, interestingly, the survey results suggest that people are more positive once they do know more,” he said.

Dr Moffat said the survey did not indicate in what way survey respondents believe the media accounts about live export could be more balanced.

“No, this was a general measure aimed at understanding the general effects of media positioning on attitudes toward the live export business.”

He said the study separated out social media (eg FaceBook, Instagram) and traditional media (e.g. newspapers) as sources of information only, and deliberately did not evaluate individual sources of information.

Dr Moffat said survey respondents were not asked if they believed the Federal Government had a mandate to shut down live sheep exports by sea.

Click these links for the ‘Live Exports and the Australian Community 2024’ report and for an infographic summary.