Wendy Lewthwaite

a Director of the Halal Kind Meats Company was also born in Kempsey.
Due to to her father’s knowledge of farming, and sense of common decency which was passed on and the wisdom of Phoebe their mother both surviving daughters are able to reach out to speak to the international community while staying in contact with the grass roots folk.

Wendy also has State Security and Investigation and is the President of (PALE) People Against Live Exports in conjunction with RSPCA QLD

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils Inc (AFIC).

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) has had 43 proud years as Australia's only Islamic peak body.

Today AFIC is responsible for halal food products certification, In 2007 AFIC celebrated its 43rd annual congress and dinner in Sydney, electing its new president and welcoming all its council members.

Mohamed Rahman is the Acting General Manager for AFIC;

The Acting general Manager of AFIC, working with HKM is Mr Mohamed Rahman who came to Australia ten years ago from New Zealand. He is married with three children, two girls and a boy.

Mohamed has been especially appointed to co-ordinate and work with HKM.

We had the pleasure of meeting Mohameds’ parents from India a few weeks ago and are delighted to have Mr Rahman on board HKM.

P O Box 439
Avalon NSW 2107
Australia
Telephone:

(02) 9973 1728
Facsimile: (02) 9973 1729
Email enquiry@hsi.org.au
Website: www.hsi.org.au

Thursday, 5 January 2006

“ Humane Society International is in full support of the HKM, PALE, AFIC initiative to create a more humane life for farm animals and to improve slaughter techniques. The establishment of Humane Halal abattoirs is a giant step in the right direction. We look forward to an opportunity to work with them in the future to achieve these goals.”


Verna Simpson – Director – Humane Society International

from the rural news
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/stories/s1096508.htm

A group of West Australian producers has formed a joint venture with Malaysia, to supply the world with halal meat products.

The Wheatbelt Growers Co-operative from Dowerin has signed an agreement with the Perak State Development Corporation to provide 100,000 sheep and 16,000 cattle each year.

Perak wants to become the world distributor of halal food to Muslim countries, with a potential market of 300 billion people.

Chief Minister Tajol Rosli says that'll provide a valuable alternative for Australia's live export trade.

"As it is now, halal food from Malaysia is recognized throughout the world.

"There are some countries that produce halal food, but it is not recognised, especially by the Middle East.

"If it's marketed as Australian, then the recognition by the Muslim countries would not be as good as if it is marketed from Malaysia."

Ikebal Patel
BE, CP Eng., MIE Aust., MIEE, MBA
President AFIC

Vic cattlemen defy grazing ban

Victorian high country cattlemen say they are prepared to go to jail over today's protest in the Alpine National Park.

Members of the Mountain Cattlemen's Association of Victoria are driving cattle through the park in defiance of the State Government's decision to ban grazing in the area.

The protest is expected to last for a week, with more cattle to enter the park in coming days.

Cattleman Charlie Lovick says he is not worried about breaking the law.

"If they want to fine me, they can put me in jail first because I won't be paying the fines," he said.

"We want the public to be aware that we haven't been treated fairly. We want the Government to come to the table and talk more realistically about keeping our heritage alive."

'Hairy old goats' face cull, but 'noble' brumbies spared

A CULL of hundreds of wild goats in Victoria's Alpine National Park has won state government approval as one of several measures to rehabilitate the mountain wilderness after the end of alpine cattle grazing.

But the Government has shied away from expanding the cull to include the large herds of brumbies that are also damaging sections of the park. Mindful of the probable outcry over the slaughter of hundreds of wild horses, the Government has instead opted to engage trappers to round up the brumbies. They will then be broken in and sold, or sent to the knackers.

The goat cull will take place near Mt Mittamatite in the northern section of the park, near Corryong, and will be conducted by volunteer hunters from the Sporting Shooters' Association. The association's Victorian general manager, Don Piccoli, said about 50 members had passed strict eligibility tests to secure accreditation for the cull.

He said association members had to prove their fitness and their ability to shoot accurately to make a painless kill, and would be supervised by Parks Victoria staff during the cull.

The association had volunteers willing to shoot the brumbies, Mr Piccoli said, but because they were "noble-looking beasts" he understood the Government's reluctance to support a cull.

"The Man from Snowy River is where they get their iconic status from, but I think if you look at the damage they do, some people might change their minds," he said.

"I think it comes down to the fact the Government realises no one could care less about a hairy old goat."

Goats and brumbies are responsible for much of the $660million in damage caused by feral animals across the nation.

State Environment Minister John Thwaites pledged $7.5million to repair the damage. But Mountain Cattlemen's Association president Doug Treasure said graziers had been calling for feral pest controls for years.

Drovers vow to drive on

MOUNTAIN graziers illegally droving cattle through Victoria's alpine region emerged from the national park last night vowing to continue their rebel cattle drive until the ban was overturned.

But National Parks Victoria chief executive Mark Stone said their request for an annual protest march through the length of the pristine national park would be denied.
Mountain cattlemen across the Alpine region are preparing to gather on Sunday at Rose River, south of Wangaratta in central Victoria, at the end of the protest that has gone on for more than a week.

Nationals leader Peter Ryan said yesterday that he would join the group to welcome back the protesters.

He said the state Government's decision to ban cattle grazing in the Alpine National Park in June to stop environmental damage was "ill-conceived and unfair".

"All of the projects announced by (Environment Minister) John Thwaites could have been undertaken with the cattle in the park," Mr Ryan said.

"It's farcical for the Minister to be blaming the mountain cattlemen all of the time."

Mountain Cattlemen's Association of Victoria president Doug Treasure said the protest had been successful in drawing attention to Parks Victoria's poor management of the land.

"I am delighted at the extent to which the ride has highlighted the infestation of weeds in the park," Mr Treasure said. "The real damage to the park, and Wonnangatta Station (part of the park) in particular, will be done by taking our cattle out and allowing the weeds and grass to grow to ever more dangerous proportions."

Graziers defy laws, gain Opposition support

A small group of mountain cattlemen have defied a ban on alpine grazing by driving a mob of cattle into the high country.

The cattlemen entered the national park early this morning to protest against the cancellation of their grazing licences.

The State Government banned alpine grazing last year to protect the environment.

The president of the Cattlemen's Association, Doug Treasure, says the cattle drive will be held annually unless the grazing ban is overturned.

"We're pretty steamed up about this whole job, we listened to John Thwaites yesterday saying that they're spending buckets of money and blaming it on the cattlemen, this is all about politics, this is all about the next election, it's not about good management of the high country," he said.

The Liberal Party's Country Victoria spokesman, Philip Davis, says the cattle drive is a symbolic protest against bad law.

"It is quite clear that the Liberal Party, the Opposition have committed to returning cattle to the alpine park following the next election and I think that if the cattlemen want that to happen, they can make their point," he said.

Drovers fight for stock routes

January 09, 2006

A GROUP of Victorian mountain cattlemen, including an upper house Liberal MP, droving a mob of cattle through the state's alpine national park, have defied rangers' orders to turn back.

The cattlemen, including MP Graeme Stoney, are protesting the State Government's ban on grazing cattle in the park.
Doug Treasure, President of Mountain Cattlemen's Association of Victoria, who is riding with a separate group of protesters, today confirmed the first group had been intercepted yesterday.

Speaking by satellite phone near Wonnangatta Station in the alpine park, Mr Treasure said the first group had ignored a request to turn their cattle around and leave the park.

Riders in the first group were interviewed by a park ranger and had their names taken down, he said.

Three groups of rebel mountain cattlemen are following traditional but now forbidden stock routes through the park and plan to converge at the Wonnangatta Station cemetery tomorrow.

The alpine park's chief ranger Peter Jacobs said the authorities had been aware the cattlemen had planned to push cattle illegally through the park.
"One of our ranger patrols did meet some people with cattle yesterday afternoon near the Wonnangatta Valley," he said.

The group was warned their action was in breach of regulations and if they continued they risked being fined.

The maximum fine for bringing an animal into the park without permission was just over $1000, he said.

The park authorities would consider evidence from yesterday's incident before deciding whether to lay charges against the group, Mr Jacobs said.

This year's summer muster is the first test of the State Government's controversial ban on grazing cattle in the national park in what it says is a bid to protect the fragile alpine environment.

The Government is providing up to $100,000 over three years to individual licence holders to shift their cattle back into nearby state forest areas.

The cattlemen say the ban will end a 170-year-old high country tradition and want to preserve the right to drive cattle though the park at least once a year.