Australian sheep still at sea

By Phil Mercer
BBC, Sydney

An Australian ship carrying more than 50,000 sheep remains at sea in the Persian Gulf, despite Australia's offer on Saturday to give the cargo away.

The sheep were originally bound for Saudi Arabia, but the country rejected the animals on health grounds.

The ship has now been stranded in the Persian Gulf for almost six weeks.

Australia earns about US$125m a year from live sheep exports

Welfare campaigners claim more than 3,000 sheep have died in searing temperatures on board the cargo vessel, dubbed "the ship of death" by the Australian media.

Activists have called for the remaining animals to be destroyed immediately.

Saudi Arabia claimed that around 6% of the sheep were suffering from scabby mouth disease.

Australia disputes this, saying only a fraction of the consignment is infected.

Attempts are now being made to off-load the animals free of charge to another country in the Middle East or Africa.

But even that is proving to be a difficult task. The United Arab Emirates has already rejected the shipment.

The Australian Government has suspended livestock exports to Saudi Arabia.

The trade is on hold until officials in Canberra are satisfied the animals can be unloaded safely.

It all threatens to leave a big dent in a multi-million dollar industry.

Australia is the world's largest animal exporter. Every year six million sheep and one million cattle are shipped to markets in Asia and the Middle East.