Report of the organization Animals Angels, Germany
The temperatures on the route from Spain to Italy reached the 35 ° C mark last Friday as well.
We accompany a transport with Spanish pigs, which are transported to a slaughterhouse in southern Italy. The animals on the second deck of the vehicle can not drink because the potions are blocked. We therefore decide to alert the police.
But we have to wait until evening gets cooler. In this heat, we can not risk stopping the transport for a long time because the controls can take hours.
Meanwhile, the transport reaches southeastern France.
But the police are not coming. All attempts to turn on French officials fail.
As soon as the transport crosses the border, we try it in Italy, but here too tourism has priority, there are no officials available (!!!)
The transport continues unhindered to the south. Near Rome, the animals are finally dumped.
On the one hand good, because at least they can all be supplied with water.
On the other hand, the haulier does not stick to the rules here either: Instead of the prescribed 24 hours, pigs are given just 10 hours break.
This transit stable is known to bypass the law by means of a trick.
We’re trying to get the police involved again, but there are no officials available from Rome to the south of Naples.
The pigs are not feeling well. They are panting heavily and many have foam around their mouths. The older driver is aggressive, he threatens us with a wooden beating (!!!) tries several times to hang us off and even takes detours to get rid of us. Finally, the transport arrives at a slaughterhouse on the heel of the Italian boot tip.
At the EU Agriculture Ministers Conference a few days ago, the subject of animal transport had been discussed extensively. EU Commissioner Andriukaitis made clear remarks to the EU states to respect the statutory temperature specifications and not to handle transports at temperatures above 30 ° C.
Various ministries, including Spain, Italy and France, had published communications announcing specific measures. But again we have to realize that theory and practice diverge widely.
While all news channels in Italy speak of ‘African heat’, animal transport continues. They are handled despite the heat. All the tricks are used to circumvent the rules – and it is not even guaranteed that the animals can drink on the go.
The police have other priorities and often do not have the opportunity to intervene. We have to let ‘our’ pigs into the slaughterhouse and with a heavy heart we bid farewell to Pedro, Ernest, Ivan, Ruben, Hector and their fellow sufferers.
We are exhausted, sad and angry. Now all we have to do is send complaints to all the parties and authorities involved and get the media involved.
We will not give up. These days we realized that the carriers fear us more than the authorities.
We do not see this as a success for us, but as further evidence that the system and the implementation of animal welfare rules are not working.
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My comment: A big problem with animal transport is that, first and foremost, there is no time limit for animal transport. The animals can in principle be transported endlessly.
The second problem is that the provisions about transport space, break, supply are formulated so inaccurately that at the end of each transport mafia acts according to its own rules.
The third and biggest problem is transports to third countries, that is, with clear words to countries where the word “animal welfare” is a foreign word. Countries that do not have animal welfare, and treat the animals like potato sacks and kill them like that ..
There is also a fourth problem with animal transport: that corrupt EU commissioners and agricultural ministers from many EU countries have common interests in animal transport, and thus one hand washes the other when it comes to animal transport abuses.
We hear a few warnings, some mails are sent, and the next 20,000 animals are transported back to hell with 42 degrees (illegal) temperature accompaniment.
We are exhausted, sad and angry too.
And we realize that animal transport has become a dirty, political business at the expense of animals, which disgusts and repudiates any democratic and ethical-minded people.
My best regards, Venus