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The footage shown of Four Corners in Australia on Monday 30 June 2011 has
engendered a tremendous response from the Australian public who are appalled
at the cruelty imposed on cattle exported live to a number of Indonesian
abattoirs. The footage captured by Animals Australia revealed severe cruelty
with one image that that will remain with viewers for a long time; a steer being
dragged by a rope around the neck, being beaten, kicked,
eyes gouged and being killed slowly by multiple cuts to
the throat whilst fully conscious.

These and similar images are not new to animal activists nor to bodies like
Animals Australia who painstakingly seek ways to bring this information to the
public to bring about an end to such cruelty. Unlike many attempts to obtain
widespread support to stop such animal cruelty, the cruelty documented and
graphically depicted in the Four Corners documentary sparked a massive
response in the Australian public. At the time of writing this article, over 510,000
people signed the petition to ban the live exports of animals from Australia, the
largest response to a request to the public for support.

As a psychologist and communications expert, I believe there are important

factors we must take into account in how this response is managed. Firstly,
understanding grief and the path it takes must be understood. The reality is that
the images resulted in an outpouring of grief that needs to be channeled. Grief is
a powerful emotion and is demonstrated in many ways – through disbelief,
bargaining, anger and depression. It is important that this grief be constructively
channeled or else individuals might turn it on others or on themselves. If it is
turned on others, it would be seen in a projection of anger towards those
believed to be responsible – the individual workers in the abattoirs, Indonesians
or the government. Anger can also be turned inwards with a person feeling a
sense of powerlessness and becoming depressed and giving up, believing that
nothing they do will make a difference. Being able to communicate via social
media to share the grief and anger with others has enabled people to feel they
are not powerless, that together this can be stopped. This is a positive step,
giving people a sense of collective meaning and community through which to
stop such cruelty and thereby assuage their grief.

Secondly, the issue of live exports opens up a related debate about meat eating,
with many vegetarians and vegans exclaiming that if people continue to eat
meat after viewing such images, then surely they can’t be concerned about
animals. I recently interviewed Jonathan Safran-Foer, the author of Eating
Animals live on Voice America
(http://www.socialmythbuster.com/factoryfarming).

This interview was followed by input from Karen Nilson, Creative Director of
Animals Australia on what really happens in factory farming. Jonathan’s research
into factory farming (a practice which culminates ultimately in slaughter in
abattoirs for these animals) indicated something very important. Jonathan said
that we must find another way to communicate and discuss these difficult issues.
He said that factory farming is NOT controversial but meat-eating is! He said
that in the USA in a recent poll, 95% of Americans agreed that there should be
legal protection against cruelty to animals. However, nearly 99% of meat
production in the USA and 95% in Australia is produced in conditions of intense
suffering of animals in factory farms. One can only assume that similar statistics
of people’s attitudes towards animal cruelty, if polled in Australia, would reveal
similar findings. The reality is that people are not aware of how animals are
treated in intense factory farm conditions. Thus the message about animal
cruelty must be separated from personal and cultural decisions about meat
eating if animals are to be protected against cruelty and be given legal
protection which at present they do not have in Australia.

Thirdly, decision-makers who have the power to bring about changes in the law
communicate something very important through their actions, beyond the actual
topic at hand. Australians with their outpouring of grief at the images witnessed
in the Four Corners Documentary are looking to the government to act to end
the suffering of animals exported live, not only to Indonesia but to other
countries. How the government responds communicates something very
important about the culture, values and moral fibre of Australia. Mahatma
Gandhi said that ‘The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged
by the way its animals are treated’.
It is my opinion that if the government ignores the strength of feeling of the
electorate, then the grief and anger will seek alternative routes to be managed
and assuaged.

Discussing and communicating difficult issues about animal welfare is complex

and emotionally charged. We must find a way to discuss the issue which doesn’t
focus on our philosophical differences. As Jonathan Safran-Foer said ‘These are
tiny’. The vast majority of people are appalled by animal cruelty and believe
that animals should receive legal protection against cruelty. Sadly, factory farm
animals in Australia currently do not receive such legal protection. This fact in
itself is shocking to many people who believe that surely bodies like the RSPCA
would intervene and stop such cruelty towards all
animals once it is discovered in Australia. The
Australian public’s response to the Four Corners Documentary has opened up a
debate that will continue beyond live exports. Once people become aware that
factory farmed animals in Australia do not have legal protection, their grief,
anger and a sense of being duped by people they believed would never allow
this to happen (their elected government), will be sparked. This can only be
good news for all animals as we can expect positive change in animal welfare,
whether the government does this sooner or later.

Clare Mann is a psychologist, author and media personality from

Sydney, Australia. Her next book is “Communicate: How to Say
What Needs to be Said, When it Needs to be Said, In the Way It
Needs to be Said.” She offers a FREE Communication Skills Course
online at http://communicate31.com