Morrissey Urges Australia to End Live Animal Export

The Smiths’ singer and animal-rights activist Morrissey recently penned a letter to Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce asking that he end the export of live animals. According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)—an organization with which the musician partnered to write the letter—millions of animals are exported out of Australia annually on seafaring vessels where they are exposed to the elements and often die from dehydration, disease, and starvation. “The horrific cruelty in the live-export industry is heavy enough to sink a ship,” Morrissey writes, “yet you insist on condemning millions of animals to this fate every year.” Morrissey pleas with Joyce, stating “If meat is murder, then live export is the slow boat to hell,” before asking him to put “the live-export industry out of its misery immediately.” Morrissey continues to be a prominent voice in the animal-rights movement and only plays at venues that commit to going meat-free during his shows.