Sheep, cattle stuck on ship after Red Sea attacks send them back to Australia

Thousands of livestock are stranded off the coast of Australia after their ship was turned back by Red Sea turmoil, raising concerns among animal rights groups.

Thousands of sheep and cattle are stranded off the coast of Australia after their ship was turned back by violence in the Red Sea, raising concerns among animal welfare groups about conditions on the vessel as the government decides what to do with them.

The ship, MV Bahijah, left for Israel on Jan. 5 from Fremantle, a port city in Western Australia, with 15,000 sheep and 2,500 cattle on board, according to Mark Harvey-Sutton, chief executive of the Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council.

On Jan. 20, the Australian agriculture and fisheries department said the ship had been ordered to return to Australia “due to the worsening security situation” in the Red Sea, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels based in Yemen have launched drone and missile attacks on commercial ships in what they say is retaliation for Israel’s military actions in the Gaza Strip.

The attacks have greatly disrupted maritime traffic in the Red Sea, a key shipping route, leading the U.S., the U.K. and others to launch strikes against Houthi targets as the Israel-Hamas war continues to expand throughout the region.

Australian officials said Thursday that the ship had been allowed to dock at the Fremantle Port but that no livestock could be unloaded due to Australia’s biosecurity regulations, which are among the strictest in the world.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/australia-sheep-cattle-stranded-ship-red-sea-rcna136699

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