WAV Comment – I don’t think there is much to say – the disgusting photographs on conditions on ship say it all for us.

The Guardian, London – with thanks for brilliant journalism as always !

All of our posts re Live Exports can be found via the following:

Live Transport – World Animals Voice

Regards Mark – the fight for justice goes on !!

How nearly 3,000 cattle came to be stranded at sea for three months | Live exports | The Guardian

How nearly 3,000 cattle came to be stranded at sea for three months

After being refused entry to several countries on health grounds, the surviving animals were ordered back to Spain for slaughter

Read more: Stranded cattle ship ordered to dock in Spain after ‘hellish’ three months at sea

After more than three months stranded in the Mediterranean, the surviving bulls onboard a livestock ship were humanely slaughtered by the Spanish authorities in Cartagena on Sunday. An official Spanish veterinary report described dire conditions onboard the Elbeik, on which 179 bulls had already died.

The Elbeik and a second livestock ship, the Karim Allah, had been refused entry to multiple countries on health grounds. We look back on the events that shaped this “hellish ride”.

18 December 2020
Two livestock ships, the Karim Allah and the Elbeik, leave Spain bound for Turkey loaded with young Spanish bulls. The Karim Allah departs from the port of Cartagena carrying almost 900 animals and the Elbeik leaves from Tarragona with nearly 1,800.

27-29 December
The Karim Allah arrives in Turkey on 27 December and the Elbeik on 29 December. Both ships are refused entry due to fears the bulls may be infected with a bovine disease called bluetongue. The shippers blame a mistake on health certificates issued by Spain’s agriculture ministry; the ministry denies this. On 1 January, the Karim Allah leaves the Turkish port of İskenderun and the Elbeik leaves from another Turkish port, Derince.

6 January
The Karim Allah arrives in the Libyan port of Tripoli on 6 January and departs again on 9 January with all the bulls onboard, after being refused permission to unload.

9 January
The Elbeik arrives in Tripoli on 9 January and leaves again on 25 January, after also being refused permission to unload. The ship’s next port of call is Alexandria, Egypt, arriving on 1 February and leaving on 4 February.

27 January
The Karim Allah reaches the Italian port of Augusta, Sicily, and leaves again on 29 January.

19 February
The Karim Allah arrives in Sardinian waters near the port of Cagliari. On the same day, the Elbeik anchors off the coast of northern Cyprus, near the port of Famagusta. Animal welfare organisations call for vets to visit the ships. Cypriot vets are placed on standby to check the animals but neither ship approaches or requests veterinary assistance.

22 February
The Karim Allah returns to waters near Cartagena, Spain, but does not enter. The shippers plan to have the cattle’s blood tested and, if the animals are cleared of any disease risk, to re-export them. The shipper says the Spanish agriculture ministry has said the animals “face immediate slaughter” if the ship docks.

25 February
The Spanish agriculture ministry’s deadline for the Karim Allah to slaughter its cattle expires. A legal tussle ensues as the shippers try to block an official Spanish slaughter order.

26 February
An official Spanish vet report dated 26 February finds 22 of the Karim Allah bulls died at sea, with two corpses still on board. The report notes that other corpses were chopped up and thrown overboard during the journey. It concludes that the animals suffered from the lengthy journey, were generally unwell and not fit for transport outside the EU, nor should they be allowed into the EU for disease-control reasons. Euthanasia would be the best solution, it says. The report does not say if the cattle have bluetongue, but it notes a range of other skin, eye and leg conditions including alopecia, flaking, scabs and joint inflammation compatible with septic arthritis.

6 March
The legal tussle ends and the slaughter of the Karim Allah bulls by Spanish officials begins on 6 March. By 9 March, all the Karim Allah bulls are dead.

18 March
Under orders from Spanish officials, the Elbeik finally returns to port in Cartagena three months after it left Spain, following stops near Cyprus, in Greece, to stock up on supplies, and off the coast of Menorca.

19 March
Spanish veterinary officials complete and sign a report describing dire welfare conditions onboard the Elbeik. The report cites the Elbeik’s captain as saying that, of the 1,789 bulls originally loaded, 179 died during the journey. The bodies were chopped up and thrown overboard. Ten other carcasses were also found on board, the report says, and of the remaining animals, some are dying, while others are starving and extremely dehydrated. In some pens, it notes, “the crew had placed fodder in the corral in a way that the starving animals were forced to eat on the corpses of their companions”. The urine and manure buildup covers the animals’ hooves, it says, leaving them without dry areas to lie down.

22 March
A separate veterinary inspection, conducted on behalf of the Elbeik cattle owners, found that only 136 of the bulls required immediate euthanasia. The rest, it said, could recover after a period of rest and adequate feeding if cleared of the risk of bluetongue or other diseases.

28 March
The last of 1,610 surviving bulls from the Elbeik are slaughtered in the port of Cartagena. Spain’s agriculture ministry says it has forwarded the veterinary report to the public prosecutor on the basis that “the facts described therein could constitute indications of a possible offence in relation to the current legislation on animal welfare”. The cattle owner, who does not wish to be named, has disputed the findings of the report.

Arrival and departure times for the Elbeik and the Karim Allah were supplied by Marine Traffic.

EU revealed to be world’s biggest live animal exporter

Read more

WAV Comment:  The ‘Mirror’ is a daily nation newspaper in the UK.  The scandal of the ‘Elbeik’ now calls on the EU to BAN live animal exports.

Now that the UK is free from the dragknuckles who run the EU, it is moving forward with legislation to ban live animal exports from the UK.  There was recently a consultation on the issue, of which we contributed over 46 A4 pages of evidence in relation to getting the ban.  The responses from all contributors (pro and anti export) are currently being revied at Defra; but we are very confident that a UK live animal export ban is now really starting to take initial steps.

Sadly for the animals, the EU has always attempted to avoid the subject like the plague; inventing investigations, reports and a lot more as delaying tactics to really addressing the issue.  The EU talks the talk but does nothing when it comes to changes even though it is provided with untold evidence.

Now with the experiences of the Karim Allah, the Elbeik, and more than 20 livestock carrying ships stuck in the Suez Canal; the EU has to follow the go it alone UK and start to address this issue with priority.

EU citizens have been calling for a ban for decades; it is only self opinionated politicians who ignore the issue; now this is a prime issue and they can ignore yet again, but it will be at their peril.

Regards Mark

The EU must follow Britain’s lead and ban the horrific livestock trade that causes so much suffering – Mirror Online

 

 

WAV Comment:  We hope that we have given you extra fodder over recent weeks on the issue of live animal exports.  The Karim Allah, the Elbeik; and now the issue of over 20 livestock vessels stopped because of the problems in the Suez Canal.

Live Transport – World Animals Voice

It is vital that NZ gets the message that it must stop live animal exports; so please send your message (link below) as soon as possible – there is not time to delay.

Regards Mark and Venus.

The NZ government will soon decide whether to ban live export.

The fate of hundreds of thousands of animals in New Zealand hangs in the balance. We’ve heard from our friends at the NZ group SAFE For Animals that their Prime Minister could be making a decision on a long-awaited review of the live export industry any day now.

Please urge Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern now to end live animal export for good.

Take Action by clicking on the following:

URGENT: Ask PM Jacinda Ardern to ban live export (animalsaustralia.org)

The review into live export, which started nearly two years ago, considered a range of options from improving systems to a total ban on this cruel practice. The papers are now with the government and they’ll decide soon which of these options to implement. So animals need your voice urgently today.

New Zealand hasn’t exported live animals for slaughter for many years, which is a testament to caring people speaking out against this cruelty. But a loophole has allowed the ongoing export of ‘breeder’ animals from New Zealand — meaning pregnant dairy cows are being shipped all the way to China and other countries around the world. There these vulnerable animals face repeated forced pregnancies, with their calves taken soon after birth, and eventual slaughter that doesn’t need to meet New Zealand standards.

One tragic outcome of this loophole trade was the Gulf Livestock 1 disaster last year. On 2 September 2020, the live export ship capsized in heavy seas and sank off the coast of Japan on the way to China. Forty-one of forty-three crew members and all 5,867 New Zealand cows onboard died at sea. Sadly, this was the latest in a long list of disasters at sea in the global live export industry.

Prime Minister Ardern and her Cabinet meet on Mondays: let’s make sure that emails from compassionate people have placed animals front of mind as they start their next meeting.

Take action for NZ cows »

The decision that New Zealand makes on this will also set a hugely important precedent for animals in Australia and other countries,

Please join other caring people in speaking out for cows and their calves now.

Together, we can take this important opportunity to call for a kinder future for animals in New Zealand and around the world.

For the animals

Lyn White AM
Animals Australia

WAV Comment:  Well done ‘The Guardian’ (London) national press for keeping us so well informed on this issue. As usual and have we have seen with issues such as the capsize of the ‘Queen Hind’ in Midia (Ro); the jack arse Romanian government have nothing to say – just like their masters at the EU.  Everyone in power keeping tight lipped about animal suffering as always.  Today, 28/3; it would appear that there are now 20 livestock vessels having problems in relation to the Suez incident.

If this is not time to stop all live animal exports, then when is ?

Do politicians listen ? – Do they hell !

Regards Mark

View all our posts regarding live transport by visiting:  Live Transport – World Animals Voice

Suez Canal: Livestock ships caught in logjam pose ‘ticking biohazard timebomb’, charity warns | The Independent

Suez Canal: Livestock ships caught in logjam are ‘biohazard timebomb’, charity warns

At least 20 vessels carrying live animals, according to industry tracking data, which could pose problems if Ever Given rescue effort proves prolonged and feed supplies run low

With the MV Ever Given mega-ship still stranded in the Suez Canal and blocking traffic in both directions, it emerges that at least 20 of the cargo vessels forced to queue in the Mediterranean, Red Sea and along the historic waterway are carrying livestock, raising concerns about the animals’ welfare.

Data from freight tracking website Marine Traffic indicates that 11 of the delayed container ships are carrying cattle, sheep and other livestock, while the Australia-based NGO Animals International has identified a further nine, according to The Guardian.

Marine Traffic spokesperson Georgios Hatzimanolis said three of the carriers, the Omega Star, the Unimar and the Sea Star, “appear to be stuck at various points in the canal” rather than queuing for entry.

Gerit Weidinger, EU coordinator for Animals International, said the Unimar and Omega Star appear to have left Spain on 15 March and 16 March respectively while a further nine of the boats were loaded in Romania earlier this month.

While the animals aboard are not in immediate danger, the prospect of the rescue effort to free the Ever Given taking several weeks to accomplish poses serious questions about their welfare.

“I wouldn’t expect just after a two-day delay for a problem to have built up,” Peter Stevenson, chief policy officer at Compassion in World Farming, told Bloomberg. “It’s as time goes by that the problems get worse. Occasionally, there are real scandals when things go wrong, but it’s a day-to-day horror.”

“My greatest fear is that animals run out of food and water and they get stuck on the ships because they cannot be unloaded somewhere else for paperwork reasons,” Ms Weidinger said.

“Getting stuck on board means there is a risk of starvation, dehydration, injuries, waste buildup so they can’t lie down, and nor can the crew get rid of dead animal bodies in the canal. It’s basically a ticking biohazard timebomb for animals and the crew and any person involved.”

Companies transporting livestock by sea reportedly set sail with at least two or three days’ worth of extra hay or feed on board and could potentially have more delivered by barge if they cannot reach port in time, a process known as “midstream loading”.

The chaos in the canal began on Tuesday when the Ever Given, a 220,000-tonne container ship operated by Taiwanese shipping giant Evergreen was apparently blown off course by 30mph winds and became wedged in the bank, bringing traffic to a standstill in a trade route that accounts for approximately one-tenth of the world’s seaborne freight.

Efforts to free it using a team of tugboats, diggers and cranes have yet to see the ship refloated, with the ongoing delays to the delivery of container cargo expected to have widespread knock-on effects for the global supply chain.

“Even the slightest delay in traffic can result in congestion and disturb the delivery of goods and commodities on both sides,” analysts at S&P Global Platts warned earlier this week.

Earlier report from The Guardian:

At least 20 livestock ships caught in Suez canal logjam | Animals | The Guardian

 

At least 20 livestock ships caught in Suez canal logjam

Concerns for animals’ welfare if Ever Given blockage crisis is protracted

At least 20 of the boats delayed due to a stricken container ship in the Suez canal are carrying livestock, according to marine tracking data, raising concerns about the welfare of the animals if the logjam becomes protracted.

The 220,000-ton Ever Given is causing the longest closure of the Suez canal in decades with more than 200 ships estimated to be unable to pass, and incoming vessels diverting around southern Africa’s Cape of Good Hope.

Georgios Hatzimanolis, a spokesperson for the tracking website Marine Traffic, said while some livestock ships were waiting to enter the canal, three – the Omega Star, the Unimar and the Sea Star – “all appear to be stuck at various points in the canal”. Marine Traffic data showed 11 delayed livestock ships, while an NGO has identified others, bringing the total identified so far to 20.

Five of the ships identified had loaded animals in Spain, and nine had loaded in Romania earlier this month, according to the NGO Animals International.

Gerit Weidinger, EU coordinator for Animals International, said data from marine tracking websites indicated the Unimar left Spain on 15 March bound for Jeddah. The Omega Star left Spain, she said, on 16 March bound for Port Said.

There were no immediate welfare concerns for the animals, but if the Ever Given has to be lightened to make it easier to dislodge, using cranes to remove enough containers could take weeks and the surrounding ships would need to leave and find longer alternative routes.

The nearby ports of Said and Suez could be used to reload fodder if supplies run low, though the process may not be straightforward with so many ships in the queue.

Thousands of cattle have already been slaughtered this year because of delays at sea.

Two ships, the Karim Allah and the Elbeik, were forced to spend months away from port because their original destination refused to accept the animals due to a health paperwork dispute that raised fears the cattle could be carrying the bovine disease bluetongue. The dispute ignited a chain of events that saw both vessels eventually return to Spain.

The animals on board the ships returned in such a poor condition Spanish authorities ordered them to be slaughtered in the port of Cartagena. More than 850 cattle on the Karim Allah were slaughtered earlier in March, while the Elbeik slaughter is ongoing with an estimated 360 of the almost 1,800 who commenced the journey culled as of Thursday.

Weidinger said she was concerned if the crisis became protracted the animals’ welfare could become an issue.

“My greatest fear is that animals run out of food and water and they get stuck on the ships because they cannot be unloaded somewhere else for paperwork reasons,” she said.

“Getting stuck on board means there is a risk [for the animals] of starvation, dehydration, injuries, waste buildup so they can’t lie down, and nor can the crew get rid of dead animal bodies in the [Suez] canal. It’s basically a ticking biohazard timebomb for animals and the crew and any person involved,” she said.

Asked about the ships with Spanish-origin livestock on board, the Spanish agriculture ministry said on Thursday: “We cannot tell you anything about these ships, but due to the blockage of the Suez canal as a result of the grounding of the cargo ship, the Spanish administration has given orders that no animal transport ships bound for Saudi Arabia and Jordan should be loaded until the canal can be navigated normally.”

Romanian agriculture and veterinary authorities have yet to comment.

27/3/21 – I was hoping that I would not need to write this; especially after the farce involving the EU and animals in transport recently, but there is now another problem yet regarding live animals in maritime shipment, as before.  I will try to summarise from the information we currently have.

We all know about the very recent issues regarding the Karim Allah and the Elbeik which carried livestock for over 3 months; unable to find a port that would accept them – scroll here to see all the posts – Live Transport – World Animals Voice

Livestock vessels currently use the Suez Canal (Egypt) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Canal  to get from the Mediterranean Sea into the Red Sea when going to the Middle East.  The Suez is a small, narrow waterway.

In the past week, a huge 220,000 tonne container carrying ship called the ‘Ever Given’ managed to get jammed in the Canal; thereby blocking off access all other ships following behind.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Suez_Canal_obstruction

Amongst these ships were several livestock carrying vessels; probably 8; Vessels Jersey, Unimar Livestock, Omega Star, Harmony Livestock, Dragon, Lady Maria, Sea Star Livestock, and Gemma star.

Some of these can be seen on one of our recent posts:  England: A Snapshot of the Maritime Livestock Trade – Vessels Currently Shipping Live Animals Around the World. A Disgusting Animal Abuse Issue. – World Animals Voice

All of them left from either Midia (Romania) or Cartagena (Spain).  We have no confirmation at this time, but suspect that the vessels from Romania were carrying sheep (Romania is a big sheep producing nation); and probably cattle being transported from from Spain.  Because of the number of livestock carrying ships involved, and the numbers of animals each are carrying; it is currently impossible to give an overall total for the numbers of animals involved in this crisis. But it will be in the ‘many thousands’.

By Friday 26/3, the maritime traffic jam had grown to more than 200 ships outside the Suez Canal, all affected by this one ship blockade.  With massive international pressure growing to resolve the issue, as well as the huge financial involvement of cargoes carried, the megaship’s owners, Japanese firm Shoei Kisen KK, said 10 tugboats had been deployed to attempt free it.

So, the current situation is that many livestock ships with animals on board are literally stranded in the Suez Canal.  Word from London today (27/3) is that a possible ‘free up and re float’ of the ‘Ever Given’ may take place very soon.  Knowing the situation on the Karim Allah and the Elbeik regarding lack of food and water; we naturally have concerns for the welfare of all animals carried on all the ships.

27/3 – I have checked all ship positions today, it has taken some research time, but I can confirm the following:

Vessel ‘Jersey’ – – registered Togo – en route to Jordan – stuck in Suez Canal.

Vessel ‘Unimar Livestock’ – registered Togo – en route to Jeddah – stuck in Suez Canal.

Vessel ‘Omega Star’ – no details

Vessel ‘Harmony Star’ – sailing under flag of Tanzania – en route to As Suways / Suez Port, Egypt.

Vessel ‘Dragon’ – sailing under the flag of Togolese Rep. – en route to Jordan – stuck in Suez Canal.

Vessel ‘Lady Maria’ – en route to the port of Jeddah – Waiting in Med Sea at entrance to Suez Canal.

Vessel ‘Sea Star Livestock’ – en route to As Suways / Suez Port, Egypt – stuck in Suez Canal.

Vessel ‘Gemma Star’ – no details.

So as you can see with so many large livestock carriers; problems to say the least !

Some of these vessels have been stuck for around 4-5 days now at least.

I hope this gives a small insight into livestock transportation by sea; and the mega problems (feed and watering etc) that just one incident such as this can bring.  Many of these vessels are heading to the Middle East where animals will be ritually slaughtered without any prior stunning.

This is all fuel to our fire in our work to get live animal exports stopped.

Regards Mark