SYDNEY, 10 September 2003 — A shipload of Australian sheep rejected by Saudi Arabia because it said they were diseased has been refused by a second country, and many of the animals have died, Australian officials said yesterday.
Saudi authorities turned away the vessel carrying 57,000 sheep last month claiming that 6 percent were infected with scabby mouth disease — 1 percentage point more than the Saudi government has agreed to allow.
Australia responded by suspending all shipments of livestock to the Kingdom and issued a diplomatic protest.
Kevin Shiell, chief of the Australian Livestock Export Corporation said yesterday the ship has since been refused permission to unload at another, unidentified country, and many of the sheep onboard had died. He did not give further details.
“Unfortunately we’ve been unsuccessful in getting agreement from authorities for (the sheep) to be discharged,” Shiell told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. “The mortality rate has gone above what would be normally expected on a standard shipment.”
The corporation said the ship was now preparing to sail to another also undisclosed destination.
