Catholic Priest Advocates Expansion of Export Restrictions?

Snuggled between CCL entries for police shields and leg irons rests ECCN 0A980. For those of you unfamiliar with ECCN 0A980, it prohibits the export from the US of horses by sea. Section 754.5 of the EAR makes clear that the purpose of ECCN 0A980 is to strictly prohibit the export of horses by sea where the horses are destined for slaughter. Horse enthusiasts lobbied the US Congress and, in 1985, Congress passed the law prohibiting the cruel practice of exporting live horses on boats for the purpose of extraterritorial slaughter. Michael Melia of the Associated Press recently wrote an article which provides an illustrative example of how seafaring horses suffer in transit. The article reports on the condition of racehorses shipped by sea from Jacksonville, Florida upon their arrival four days later in Puerto Rico, which is not an export. For other exports of live animals, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) maintains and directs certain minimal requirements. Interestingly, in 1891, the US Congress passed its first law pertaining to the safe transport and humane treatment of cattle exported by sea from the US.

In Australia, the law governing the export of live animals and animal reproductive materials came into operation in 1987. Most shipments of live animals carry reporting and licensing requirements. CathNews picked up this article from the October 13, 2008 edition of Farm Weekly. In an apparent protest of the practice of shipping live cattle by sea, Father Claude Mostowik blessed with holy water cattle as they were being loaded aboard a ship in Australia which was headed for the Middle East. A quick search on Father Mostowik revealed that he is also an active nuclear nonproliferation advocate.