A court on Saturday halted the cull of 21,000 Australian sheep amid a dispute over whether or not they are sick, but a senior official insisted the 7,600 animals already killed had not been mistreated.
The shipment of sheep arrived in Pakistan almost a month ago after being turned away by Bahrain, and livestock officials ordered them to be culled after they tested positive for salmonella and actinomyces bacteria.
But after an appeal by importer PK Meat and Food Company, the Sindh High Court rejected the test results and ordered fresh samples to be taken and sent to Britain for analysis.
A report in Karachi-based newspaper The News International said the authorities had used untrained workers who had stabbed and clubbed the sheep to death and even buried some while still alive, prompting anger in Australia.
According to the report, which referred to video shot on a mobile phone, some of the animals were disposed of in shallow graves. AFP has not seen the video.
Roshan Shaikh, Karachi's top administrative official, said reports of the animals' mistreatment were untrue.
"We have slaughtered the sheep in Islamic manner and duly buried them deep in trenches ensuring that they could not cause danger to human population or animals," he said.
"There was just a single sheep, the throat of which was not properly cut, but that was a human error and not deliberate."
The Australian government has said it is looking into the reports.
The court will reconvene to decide on the sheep's fate on October 16, after receiving results from the British laboratory. Samples for the new tests were taken in the presence of Australian experts, Shaikh said.
Australia has insisted salmonella and actinomyces are part of normal bacteria found in sheep and pose no threat to human health.
The incident has renewed calls for a total end to Australia's live export trade, which is worth about US$1 billion a year and employs around 10,000 people.
Australia suspended live cattle exports to Indonesia for a month last year after a television documentary revealed mistreatment inside its abattoirs, only reinstating the trade under a strict new licensing system.
COMMENTS (13)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Australian govt should have the courtesy to explain why 22,000 of their sheep were brought to Pakistan, these sheep were not even destined to touch Pakistani port. Pakistan should lodge a high powered protest with the Australian Embassy in Pakistan & ask them to immediately take back all the remaining sheep. Additionally the govt should also take stern action against all those who helped in un-loading these infected sheep.
The Australian sheep were DUMPED in Pakistan at a rate of around 200 Rupees per sheep.
There is OBVIOUSLY something badly wrong with them.
Only garbage is that cheap.
There rumors are worst conspiracy against the land of pure perpetrated by the west. Nobody is mistreated in our country including all humans and animals. How can we Muslims be cruel to animals? The West has nothing better to do except conspire to malign our Muslim country.
"Pakistan denies Australian sheep mistreated" +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In Pakistan only minorities are mistreated and sheep are not.
@Sexton Blake: "Actually, it is my understanding that Australians are upset that Muslim countries are buying their lamb in huge quantities, because the price has gone so high they cannot afford to buy it any more."
Right, so there Australians who are less affluent and quite upset decided to spread rumours that theie sheep were infected , so that Pakistani authorities would kill them for no good reason. And this would help bring down price of mutton in Australia - how?
Sad really. We should've kept the flock locked up on some small island nation off our coast, and then shipped them back to where they came from after some months in detention.
@Nadir: Actually, it is my understanding that Australians are upset that Muslim countries are buying their lamb in huge quantities, because the price has gone so high they cannot afford to buy it any more. Obviously, the Pakistan people are more affluent than Australians, or they are buying lamb at a better price.
Here people are playing personal political & financial agendas with the lives of thousands of innocent animals who are left to suffer amidst terrible conditions. Who will believe Pakistani officials or politicians in world trade circles when their agendas are so transparent?
it's just too ironic for pakistan..
animals vs humans..
Isn't it a little funny how almost every accusation towards another country ends up being false and then backfires on Pakistan in some way?
Australia cares more about its sheep, than our masters care about us.