Meat and Livestock Australia is countering the latest advertising campaign by Animals Australia, taking its own full page advertisements in a rural newspapers in support of the live export trade.
Animals Australia has taken full page ads in three rural newspapers this week, which feature an open letter to livestock producers urging them not to send stock by the boat trade to the Middle East for the upcoming Festival of the Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha).
Countering this is an open letter from MLA, in which its manager of livestock services for the Middle East & Africa, Peter Dundon, writes that producers and the livestock industry find cruelty to animals unacceptable.
And he says the industry is investing heavily to change the practices in question in the Middle East.
"I can assure you the Australian livestock export industry, including exporters, producers and the farming families and communities that invest in animal welfare, find any cruelty to animals unacceptable and we continue to work hard to deliver even further improvements in the countries we export animals to," Mr Dundon writes.
"Living 15km from the feedlot and working there on a regular basis, I can advise that Bahrain Livestock Company Feedlot has good yards and loading facilities and that on six days of the week; 47 weeks per year, around 1700 sheep/day are quietly walked onto a single deck semi-trailer and transported the three minute journey to the abattoir that's less than 2km from the feedlot."
Mr Dondon said that figure rises to around 3000 sheep/day during Ramadan, when local consumption roughly doubles.
"They are also handled and transported properly," he said.
"Over 99pc of sheep from Bahrain feedlot are handled and transported out of Bahrain feedlot each year in what we would all consider as being acceptable conditions; no different from walking sheep onto a truck at a farm, saleyard or feedlot in Australia.
"There's no yelling, hitting, dragging, throwing and the good design of the loading facilities makes the process quite easy and stress free."
But during the Festival of the Sacrifice, Mr Dundon said the normal loading process changes as people require live animals.
"So they are sold as private sales and do not go directly to the abattoir in the company's truck," he said.
"This period continues to present the greatest logistical and handling challenge of the year for many operators.
"This is due to the magnitude and nature of the demand for live animals that differs from normal through this three-day period.
"Myself and our team of animal welfare experts, based in the region, are working hard to improve handling and infrastructure as well as the purchasing/selling and distribution system, but in reality, for this particular time of the year it is challenging.
"There are literally thousands of people wanting to purchase live animals and we're the first to admit that making change through this period is difficult.
"What is presented on television should be considered in relation to the remaining 362 days of the year when these poor practices are rare and the pressure to deliver sheep to individual purchasers is far less."
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