Day: February 8, 2023

Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

4.5 Tonnes of Cocaine Found on a Ship Carrying 1,750 Cows. Again, We Call for a Ban to Live Animal Exports.

Photo AIS / Marine Traffic.

4.5 tonnes of cocaine found on a ship carrying 1,750 cows

8 February 2023

AWF

On 28 January, the ORION V, a vessel bound for the Middle East from Colombia, was arrested off the Canary Islands: 4.5 tonnes of cocaine were found on board.

After 9 days at sea, the boat was stopped for over 56 hours and a large part of the crew was arrested. The rest of the crew was authorised to go to Algeria, as the animals were not allowed to stay in the European Union.

The 4.5 tonnes of cocaine were disguised as animal feed. National Police and Customs Surveillance Service have suspect that drugs have been transported on board the ORION V since 2020.

The vessel is closely linked to both drug trafficking and animal welfare/human health issues:

In June 2020, during a drug raid, the police noticed 5,000 cattle from Colombia in alarmingly bad condition.

The ship was overloaded and dirty, the animals were emaciated, and some were already dead. They were exported to Egypt without any veterinarian treatment. The drug raid had to be cancelled because the drug dogs could not work due to the ammonia smell.

In September 2021, three workers inhaled a toxic gas emitted from the cattle feed on board the vessel. Two were injured, one died.

Like most livestock vessels, the ORION V is very old and not suitable for animal exports. The makeshift solutions, sharp edges, sloping sides and dirty bedding pose serious dangers to the animals.

The fact that this trade is being targeted by drug smugglers is yet another wake-up call to ban cruel live exports once and for all.

The European Union needs a fundamental change in its agricultural policy. Long-distance transports of live animals must end. Exporting live animals and accepting their cruel slaughter in third countries is not compatible with the values ​​of the European Union.”

Maria Boada-Saña, veterinarian and project manager at Animal Welfare Foundation e.V.

We have obtained the following additional information:

What kind of ship is this?

ORION V (IMO: 7300992) is a Livestock Carrier that was built in 1973 (50 years ago) and is sailing under the flag of Togo.

Her carrying capacity is 4054 t DWT and her current draught is reported to be 6 meters. Her length overall (LOA) is 97.31 meters and her width is 16.24 meters.

Regards Mark

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

New Zealand: Fonterra Orders An End To The Killing Of Bobby Calves On Dairy Farms.

I think we have shown in the past that the dairy industry is a grossly sick industry.  Cows, which should produce milk for their baby calves have it stolen from them in order to feed humans.

Above – Male Calf in Veal Crate.

In order to produce milk, cows must give birth to a calf. Male calves are generally considered a low-value waste product by the industry and as they do not replace female animals in the dairy herd are usually slaughtered at around five days of age. The RSPCA is concerned about the potential for poor treatment of these ‘bobby calves’ on farm, during transport and at slaughter.

For years in the past, British male calves were exported to Europe to be incarcerated in the dreaded veal crate system.  Despite the British government not allowing veal crates to be used in the UK; they were banned due to their cruelty, they did allow British calves to be exported and put into such systems in mainland Europe – was that not hypocritical ? !

Calves are normally separated from their mothers within 24 hours of birth, mainly to reduce the risk of disease in the calf and to ensure the calf is fed adequate colostrum. Cow-calf separation is a practice which is very stressful for both cow and calf.

The option: dont support the murder of baby calves.

New Zealand:

One of the world’s biggest dairy companies, a New Zealand-based co-operative orders an end to killing bobby calves on dairy farms

Fonterra has ordered its farmers to stop killing bobby calves on their farms unless there is a humane reason for doing so. The company said they should be raised for beef or slaughtered for calf-veal or the pet food market.

The mistreatment of bobby calves has previously come under scrutiny after being killed on farms because they had no financial value, and mistreated by contractors who picked them up to transport them to meat works.

Continue reading at:

Fonterra orders an end to killing bobby calves on dairy farms | Stuff.co.nz

Regards Mark

Remembering dear John:

England: Another Terrible Loss – John Callaghan. – World Animals Voice

Time out:

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News

USA: The federal government is investigating the possible human trafficking of children who cleaned slaughterhouses.

The federal government is investigating the possible human trafficking of children who cleaned slaughterhouses

There is no indication that the sanitation company is under investigation for trafficking the children who worked there.

Federal investigators are looking into whether 50 children — some as young as 13 — who were allegedly illegally employed cleaning Midwestern slaughterhouses were victims of labor trafficking, three officials from the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News.

Homeland Security Investigations agents have interviewed children who worked cleaning a JBS Foods slaughterhouse in Grand Island, Nebraska, the officials say.

There is no indication DHS is investigating the company that hired the children, Packers Sanitation Services Inc., or PSSI, for human trafficking. Instead, said two DHS officials, DHS is investigating to rule out the possibility that outside traffickers may have forced children to work for PSSI and profited off their labor.

Continue reading at:

The federal government is investigating the possible human trafficking of children who cleaned slaughterhouses (nbcnews.com)

Regards Mark