More than 16,500 sheep and cows stuck on board ship off Australia after Red Sea sailing cancelled

AUSTRALIAN WELFARE GROUPS are demanding the release of thousands of sheep and cattle stuck aboard a ship after their trip to the Middle East was diverted by Yemen’s Huthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea.

The livestock – reportedly more than 15,000 animals, mostly sheep – have spent about four weeks aboard the MV Bahijah since setting sail from Fremantle, Perth in Western Australia on 5 January.

The ship abandoned its plan to voyage through the Red Sea because of the “worsening security situation” there and was directed to return to Australia, the Department of Agriculture said in a statement.

It docked back in Fremantle yesterday after reaching the Western Australian coast earlier in the week.