Animal Welfare

The care and welfare of our animals is and always will be at the centre of everything ACE does. With a genuine connection, passion and care for the land and livestock, it remains our priority to improve and promote the highest standards of animal welfare management systems across the industry. As licensed exporters of cattle we comply with stringent regulations that very clearly outline the way animals are selected and prepared for export; the amount of space, food, and water they receive during their voyage and requirements around animal handling and welfare, through to processing after they arrive at their destination. ACE places animal welfare outcomes above ticking boxes for regulation compliance, supporting cultural change in a highly regulated industry.

"The welfare of our animals underpins our company ethos of ‘taking care of the cattle first’, enabling the business to develop and prosper, which in turn provides a sustainable commercial and ethical supply chain.”
Patrick Underwood, Managing Director ACE.

ACE’s focus on animal welfare is achieved by engaging the best control and traceability systems which not only meet but exceed the required compliance and reporting requirements. Through a number of initiatives we are able to produce an animal welfare model with greater transparency, accountability, independence, consistency and integrity.

The Australian livestock industry is regulated by the Federal Government under the Export Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) which is an assurance system based on four principles:

  1. Animal welfare – animal handling and processing in the importing country conforms to World Organisation for Animal Health animal welfare recommendations.
  2. Control through the supply chain – the exporter has control of all supply chain arrangements for livestock transport, management, and processing. All livestock remain in the supply chain.
  3. Traceability through the supply chain – the exporter can trace all livestock through the supply chain.
  4. Independent audit – the supply chain in the importing country is independently audited.

At ACE, we believe that Animal welfare is everyone’s responsibility. We operate under the highest standards of animal welfare and invest a great deal of time and money to ensure the best control and traceability practices are in place to meet and exceed Australia’s rigorous regulatory requirements for livestock exports.