Opinions differ on the ethical and, in our eyes, clearly cruel background to showjumping.
However, the fact is that only recently in January of this year a horse was brazenly and cold-heartedly beaten with a whip by the German showjumping professional Kevin Lemke in front of an audience.
And this is proven by a horrific video of evidence that any doubters can watch under the following link (be careful: not for the faint of heart !!!): https://vimeo.com/516459284
During a show jumping competition in California, the horror scenes occurred after the horse “Good Luck” refused to jump over an obstacle.
PETA Germany immediately demanded legal action against the alleged animal abuser,PETA USA has already filed a criminal complaint.
The “Desert International Horse Park” was the scene of this cruelty to animals. “Good Luck” refused to jump over an obstacle and in a probably uncontrolled, massive outburst of aggression you can see Kevin Lemke hitting the poor animal like crazy.
The showjumper proceeds with incredible rigor so that the whip whips can not only be seen clearly on the evidence video but can also be heard. This earned the German disqualification.
But the torture continued.
Disqualified show jumpers are still allowed to take part in the so-called correction jump after they have been eliminated.
When riding a combination, the battered horse stumbled over the first obstacle due to the extremely stressful situation in which it was and refused the following.
More than 850 cattle that have spent months adrift in the Mediterranean are no longer fit for transport and should be killed, according to a confidential report by Spanish government veterinarians.
A lawyer for the cattle ship’s management company told the Guardian on Saturday that he planned to resist the move, even as a video from the port appears to show preparations being made to unload the cattle.
The report, compiled after Spanish officials were able to board the vessel earlier this week, said that the captain had told them of 22 deaths among the 895 calves on-board.
Another nine cattle were not accounted for, it said. The ship’s management said the calves, all bulls, are about seven to eight months old now.
The report concluded that the animals had suffered from the lengthy journey and were generally in a poor state. Some of them were unwell and not fit for transport outside of the European Union, nor should they be allowed into the EU, it said. Euthanasia would be the best solution for their health and welfare, it concluded.
The animals were rejected by several countries over fears they had bovine bluetongue virus. The report did not say if the cattle had bluetongue disease but it noted a range of other skin, eye and leg conditions including alopecia, flaking, scabs and joint inflammation compatible with septic arthritis.
The lawyer, Miquel Masramón who represents the ships’ management company, said on Saturday that it appeared preparations to kill the cattle were being made at the port. In a video Masramón sent to the Guardian, a metal ramp can be seen leading down from a ship toward a series of metal containers lined up along a dock wall.
The lawyer said the ship’s managers will attempt to resist any move to unload the cattle and that he is in the process of contacting Lebanese authorities.The vessel is owned by Khalifeh Livestock Trading and managed by Talia Shipping Line, both based in Lebanon, while the cattle are owned by a third party.
“In the video you see the closed containers, they are not for living livestock,” said Masramón on Saturday. “We have no official information, but we think they will discharge the animals and then kill them with electrical guns.”
He added that blood samples taken from the cattle on Wednesday night by Talia Shipping Line, to test for a bovine disease called bluetongue, had been blocked at the port by Spanish authorities and were not allowed to proceed to a lab for analysis.
The insect-borne bluetongue virus causes lameness and haemorrhaging among cattle but does not affect humans. The Spanish ministry’s report counted 864 animals alive on board the Karim Allah this week. Twenty-two cows had died at sea with two corpses still onboard, it noted, adding that the remains of the others that died were chopped up and thrown overboard during the journey.
Spain’s agricultural ministry did not reply to a request for comment on Saturday.
Masramón previously told the Guardian the shippers aimed to resell the cattle outside the EU if they tested negative for bluetongue. Talia Shipping Line estimates that current losses on the cattle transport could be up to €1m. Spanish authorities have said the company was also liable for the cost of killing the animals and destroying the carcasses. The company estimates this will cost them a further €1m.
“We are trying to resist, if they take the animals, and to get a new private expert animal health report,” said Masramón. He added, however, that if Spanish authorities were to remove the animals on health grounds they would probably succeed.
“In my opinion the animal health regulations will prevail [over maritime ones] and they, [the] Spanish officials, will be able to take the animals and cull them,” he said.
Masramón said although he was not an animal health technician, he did not agree with the official Spanish veterinary report released on Friday. “From what I understand, none of the diseases [noted in the report] are worth euthanizing the cattle for. They are normal after two months at seas and the animals could recover.”
In an interview, a source close to a second cattle ship, the Elbeik, which has similarly been at sea for two months since leaving the Spanish port of Tarragona with a cargo of nearly 1,800 cows, said he was watching the Karim Allah developments closely.
The Elbeik is currently moored off the Turkish Cypriot port of Famagusta having loaded animal fodder and straw. The source said that once the loading was complete, the Elbeik would probably sail to Greece to load bunker fuel for the ship.
Asked about apparent moves by the Spanish authorities to begin unloading and killing the cattle, the source said the health problems identified by the official Spanish vet report could “easily heal”. He said the decision, if taken, to kill all the animals was “amazing”. He added: “If the animals can heal why would they want to do that?”
There is an old saying which goes “a picture says a thousand words”. Have a look at these 2 pictures of the ‘Karim Allah’: are they not fairly indicative of the majority of the live animal transport maritime situation now ? – rust bucket ships that should have been scrapped years ago still transporting innocent, sentient beings to their (often) barbaric deaths the world over.
Have a look at this picture – this is Mr Bernard Van Goethem.
Here below is the (link for the) organizational chart for the Commission of Health and Food Safety – Sante. Mr Van Goethem is the ‘leader’ responsible for ‘Crisis Preparedness in Animals’, which includes ‘section G2 – Animal Health’. You can see all of this on the right hand side of the chart.
Health and Food Safety Organizational chart link –
In 2015, the European Commission launched a three-year Pilot Project aiming at improving animal welfare during transport by developing and disseminating Guides to Good and Best Practice for the transport of the main livestock species.
In September 2017, the contractor of the project published five extensive guides to good practices (only in English) as well as 17 technical fact sheets focusing on the most practical information in A4 format. Fact sheets are available in eight EU languages (English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Polish, Romanian and Spanish).
This publication is followed by a road show in eight Member States and presenting the guidelines to the professionals concerned (transporters, drivers, farmers, official veterinarians, etc.). The project will also produce five videos (one per species in eight languages).
Council Regulation EC 1/2005 defines the responsibilities of all actors involved in the transport chain of live animals entering or leaving the EU. It lays down efficient monitoring tools and stricter rules for the transport and for the specific checks to be carried out by officials. It also provides for non-discriminatory inspections of animals, means of transport and accompanying documents.
EU countries are required to submit to the Commission, by 30 June each year, an annual report for the previous year on the non-discriminatory inspections together with an analysis of the major deficiencies. Click here to access the annual reports.
In order to reduce the administrative burden on EU countries, Commission Implementing Decision 2013/188/EU, which came into force on 1 January 2015, established an harmonised model form for the annual reports.
We at WAV, as of 28/2/21, make the following statement: Is the situation where hundreds of live EU animals have been stranded in the Mediterranean on 2 different ships not a ‘crisis’ ? – and should we have not seen intervention by the EU ‘Crisis Preparedness in Animals’ team, led Mr Mr Van Goetyhem, on this issue several weeks ago ? If this is not a crisis, then what is ?
If the EU crisis team are not going to get involved and take action at times of a crisis, then what is the point of them even existing ?
As you can see from the various EU links above; they at EU Commissions are specialists at blowing their own trumpets; leading the reader / web site visitor all over the place to find information (or maybe confuse them !) on their highly constructed, expensive, and detailed website; (at EU taxpayers expense); in some wildly bland attempt to make the reader think that they are completely and utterly in charge of the situation when it comes to controls and regulations for the welfare of animals in transport.
Well they are not – the website and all the sub sections and statements are simply massive smokescreens because they, the EU Commission, are utterly incapable of having any controls over the international situation of ensuring live animals welfare during transport throughout the EU, and way beyond into third countries such as Turkey and Libya.
This was in relation all those years ago to the EU having no control of the welfare of animals during transport; here is a video produced at the time to show that:
Here are a few other links we published on this issue at the time:
So what changes over all these years at the EU ? – very little it seems. Plenty of waffle; plenty of PR; plenty of web news; people are doing this, and people are doing that; when in reality, nothing actually changes for animals in transport.
As you can see in the above links, in the past we have called for the resignation of Mr Van Goethem; we think that with these terrible situations over the last few months and not a whisper from the EU on the crisis from the crisis management section of the EU Commission; maybe it is time to get another petition underway calling for resignations due to incompetence. When we get this organised we will publish.
Regards Mark
Latest news:
Saturday 27/2/21:
More than 850 cows that have spent two months at sea on a ship crossing the Mediterranean are facing slaughter, following a report from Spanish vets.
The cattle have suffered “hellish” conditions, according to animal rights activists.
The Karim Allah vessel originally left the Spanish port of Cartagena to deliver the cattle to Turkey but were refused entry due to fears over bluetongue.
The insect-borne bovine virus causes lameness and haemorrhaging among cattle but does not affect humans.
After being turned away from Turkey, owners failed to find a new buyer for the animals.
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The ship was subsequently rejected by several more countries, even to replenish animal feed, leaving the cows to go several days with just water.
The ship became a pariah vessel and it has now returned to its starting point in Cartagena.
The confidential report by Spanish government veterinarians and seen by Reuters says the animals have suffered from the long journey and should be killed.
While it did not confirm whether the animals were suffering from bluetongue or not, it said they should not be allowed into the EU.
Ownership of the cattle is unclear.
Animal rights activist Silvia Barquero, director of the Igualdad Animal NGO, called the crossing “hellish” for the cattle and questioned what had happened to the waste produced by the cows during the crossing.
“We are sure they are in unacceptable sanitary conditions.”
Twenty-two cows are believed to have died at sea, and while 20 of the corpses have been chopped up and thrown overboard, two dead cows remain on board.
A lawyer representing the ship owner Talia Shipping Line, which is registered in Lebanon, said he believes the slaughter will now definitely go ahead.
Meanwhile, a second ship, the ElBeik, which also set sail from Spain in December with a cargo of nearly 1,800 cows, is currently moored off the Turkish Cypriot port of Famagusta.
The agriculture ministry has been approached for comment
In 2016, the New Zealand government passed a law amending its constitution: henceforth, all animals are recognized as sentient beings. This is accompanied by groundbreaking changes for the animal world within the country’s borders.
Mankind has always argued whether animals are capable of feeling emotions just like us.
Anyone who has already had an intimate relationship with an animal friend would undoubtedly answer this question in the affirmative.
The complex social behavior that animals display cannot possibly be based on instincts alone.
Image: pixabay.com
Research confirms the emotional world of many animal species
In the meantime, research has advanced to the point where many animal species have feelings.
Laboratory mice are used not least to test antidepressants because it has been discovered that they can suffer from depression.
It is well known that elephants mourn their deceased family members.
New Zealand serves as a model for all states
By ensuring that all animals are recognized as sentient beings in New Zealand’s constitution, the government is following not only common sense but also what is scientifically proven.
This change in the law will mean groundbreaking changes for all wildlife within New Zealand’s state borders. The change in the law will facilitate the criminal prosecution of animal abusers and the ban on animal testing in research.
Animal rights activists celebrated the decision that went into effect in February 2016!
Image: pixabay.com
The New Zealand law gives hope that basic animal rights will be respected.
The constitution is supplemented by the statement that animals are to be viewed as what they are, as “sentient beings”.
The new law says that animals, like humans, are “sentient” beings!Abuse of animals and animal experiments were made a criminal offense, and those who hunt animals are also liable to prosecution.
In Germany, the German Civil Code (BGB) classifies animals as “material objects”. This denies them any rights.
Only certain property rights (see Animal Welfare Act) can be asserted for animals – this is always at the discretion of the court.
In 1990 a law was passed that animals should no longer be referred to as “things”, but they still have no rights of their own and remain “animate property”.
Undoubtedly, the decision of the New Zealand government should serve as a guiding example for all of humanity.
Anyone who still denies sentience for animals in the 21st century, despite proven scientific findings, probably also believes that the earth is flat.
And I mean…New Zealand is a good example and other countries should follow suit as it is a first step in the right direction.
After all, we have now received confirmation that we have always known that animals, like humans, are “sentient” beings!
Around the world, humans kill 50 to 60 billion animals every year.
That this mass murder is still legal only shows that humans do not evolve, and as far as our morals towards animals go, we still live on the tree.
Cattle stranded at sea ‘face immediate slaughter’ if ship docks in Spain, says manager
Cattle onboard the Karim Allah in Cartagena in a photograph taken on Wednesday by a crew member.
Livestock company still hopes to find a buyer for animals on board ship for two months, after rejection by Turkey and Libya
The manager of a ship that has spent months at sea with hundreds of cattle on board has accused Spanish officials of failing to answer his call for help and of threatening to kill all the livestock if the ship enters port.
The Karim Allah is one of two vessels that left from different ports in Spain before Christmas to deliver cargoes of young bulls, but were refused entry by various countries including Turkey and Libya, owing to suspected outbreaks of the bovine disease bluetongue onboard both ships.
The vessel is owned by Khalifeh Livestock Trading and managed by Talia Shipping Line, both based in Lebanon, while the cattle are owned by a third party. The ship took 895 male calves on board at the Spanish port of Cartagena in mid-December and sailed for Turkey.
However, the Karim Allah’s manager told the Guardian that a mistake on the Spanish government’s animal health paperwork led Turkey to reject the cattle, fearing they may be infected with bluetongue.
Attempts to sell the animals to buyers in Libya also failed and the Karim Allah eventually travelled back to Spain. The ship has been docked just outside Cartagena since Sunday. Only 15 animals are dead, the manager said, and the rest are in good health.
“We remain at anchor outside Cartagena port because first the Spanish authorities told us we could not enter. That was on Sunday or Monday,” said Majed Eid, Talia Shipping Line director.
“Then the Spanish authorities said we could enter [the port] but that all the cattle – they are all bulls about seven to eight months old – must be slaughtered,” said Eid. There has been no mention of vets inspecting the ship or testing for bluetongue, he added.
“We do not want to slaughter the healthy animals. That is the proof of the good care we have taken, only 15 dead after more than 60 days at sea. We expected people to thank us, not criticise us,” he said. “We are crying out for help but the Spanish government is not helping us. No one is helping us.”
Blood samples being taken on the Karim Allahon Wednesday.
Eid said the cattle shipment first ran into problems in Turkey due to an error in the Spanish authorities’ paperwork. “That was why the cattle were not accepted in Turkey or Libya, due to fears they might have come from a bluetongue area.”
Eid said the priority was to test the cattle so healthy animals can be certified and new buyers found. “We want to do blood tests to prove they are free of bluetongue then we can find a buyer. We don’t want to kill healthy animals. We expected Spain would want to help us with the blood tests but they are not helping, it’s very complicated.”
Miquel Masramón, a lawyer for Talia Shipping, said that blood samples were taken by a private company from some cattle on the ship on Wednesday evening. “According to the vet team no symptoms of bluetongue were found and test result will be known in 24 to 48 hours,” he said.
Legal documents, received last week by Masramón from the Spanish Animal Health Authority and seen by the Guardian, say the cost of slaughtering cattle re-entering Spain in this situation must be borne by the companies involved.
If the animals are shown to be free of bluetongue it is hoped new buyers can be found.
Masramón estimates the cost of slaughter and carcass disposal will be more than €1m (£860,000). “This should be added to the losses already suffered with unpaid demurrage [a charge payable to the owner of a chartered ship on failure to load or discharge the ship within the time agreed] and expenses which we estimate now at another €1m,” he said.
Maria Boada Saña, a vet with the NGO Animal Welfare Foundation, said it was good news that so many cattle were still alive. But she said it was unlikely the animals were in good health. “They might not have bluetongue, but that does not mean they are healthy,” she said.
Boada Saña said she believed slaughter, rather than another attempted sale involving further sea transport, was a better option for the cattle. “We are calling directly for euthanasia. They have been adrift for two months. The [animal] transports we see might take a week or so and that already means the animals arrive in poor condition, so imagine two months.”
On Thursday, a spokesperson for Spain’s agriculture ministry said the Karim Allah was free to enter Cartagena if it wished, but would not comment on the legal documents sent to Talia Shipping indicating the cattle would have to be immediately slaughtered.
A second livestock ship, Elbeik, which left the Spanish port of Tarragona carrying 1,776 animals on the same day as the Karim Allah, is at anchor in Turkish waters off the coast of Cyprus. It too was turned away by Turkey and Libya due to bluetongue fears.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Spain’s agriculture ministry described the ships’ plight as a “failed operation by a Spanish exporter, who was going to sell the animals in Turkey, then tried unsuccessfully to sell them in Libya”.
The spokesperson added that the Karim Allah, “now arriving in Cartagena, left Spain with animals that had the corresponding health certificates and which were from areas free of bluetongue. The animals therefore left the port of Cartagena in good health.”
Masramón told Spanish media that the certificates noted that some of the cattle were from Aragon, one of the regions that saw an outbreak of bluetongue late last year. As it couldn’t be shown that the cattle came from a place that was more than 150km from the source of infection, the cargo had been rejected. He confirmed they had been able to obtain fodder for the animals in Sicily, but not unload them.
The ministry has said the Elbeik was also carrying cattle from bluetongue-free areas.
In a second statement on Thursday, the agriculture ministry said: “The master of the vessel Karim Allah has been requested to take appropriate measures to allow inspectors to board the vessel safely. This request has not been complied with by the captain of the ship by the deadline, which was today, 25 February, at 11am.”
It added that Spanish maritime officials have now, “prohibited the ship Karim Allah from leaving the port until the appropriate inspections and actions have been carried out on the vessel.”
Lets hope all business and Spanish authorities associated with this terrible suffering end up on the seabed; hopefully entombed in the rust heap of a ship that they use or are involved with. This is utter abuse and everyone should be punished for being dickheads.
A sellout crowd lined up outside Rudy’s Vegan Butcherfor the plant-based meat’ shop’s grand opening on World Vegan Day!
Hundreds of eager customers wrapped around the block, leaving them sold out a day after opening their doors! Rudy’s offers mouth-watering, plant-based barbecue staples and meatless charcuterie cuts of smoked ham, salami, pepperoni, and pastrami.
The London scene just got WAY more sustainable, and we’re so here for it!
@rudysdvd via IG
And I mean…Wow! Who would have thought 30 years ago that they would still experience all of this … everyone thought… utopia!
The next step will follow, of that we are sure, and several branches of the vegan butcher shop will be opened across the UK.
Because demand determines the supply
After spending two decades working her way up the ladder as a psychiatric nurse, Kay Allen, 58, decided to pack it all in and do something radically different: open her own cat cafe. The former nurse from Holloway, North London, was inspired to make a change when she visited a cat cafe for the first time and was blown away by how relaxed she felt.
In 2018, she took the plunge and opened up ‘Whiskers and Cream’, a space where people can watch and play with nine gorgeous cats. Kay said: ‘I had often joked about the idea of running my own cafe and baking cakes but, having done something as full on as I had before with the level of pressure and stress, it felt almost not enough of a challenge, in the right way, for me.
‘Then I came across the idea of running a cat cafe and I traded in my old job, that was 24/7 and where I was never really off duty, with 24/7 responsibility for a cat cafe.’ Kay qualified as a psychiatric nurse in 1998 and spent two decades as a clinician, working her way through the health service to end up managing a large inpatient psychiatric unit in the capital.
‘It’s a calming and therapeutic space and even in lockdown I can be sat there in the cafe and people walking past can go from having a straight face to an almost overacted “oh my god” and a huge grin and smile. ‘That for me, from my background treating people’s mental health, gives me so much pleasure.’
The cattle ship Karim Allah docked in Tarragona, Spain, 2020. Photograph: Animal Welfare Foundation/Tier Schutz Bund Zurich
Above – Crisis, what crisis ? Bernard Van Goethem (Mr ‘Crisis Management ??’) does nothing to sort out the problems here; and Mr Goethem; still no EU action on the ‘Queen Hind’ capsize at Midia, Romania.
WAV Comment – BIG thanks to ‘The Guardian’ (London) for sticking with, and reporting on this incident so very well over the last few months. Click on our live export tag Live Transport – World Animals Voice to read all the previous news from the Guardian (and more) about this most disgusting business in sentient beings.
And where is the EU ? – and Bernard Van Goethem ? – the crisis management head at DG Sante who is supposed to be involved with issues like this ? – it IS a crisis, is it not ?
Cattle stranded at sea for two months are likely dead or ‘suffering hell’
Two livestock ships have been refused entry to multiple countries on health grounds since leaving Spain in December
One of two livestock ships at sea since mid-December with thousands of cattle on board is now at the Spanish port of Cartagena, but the fate of its cargo is unclear.
The two vessels left from different ports in Spain before Christmas to deliver their cargoes of animals, but were each refused entry by various countries including Turkey and Libya, owing to suspected outbreaks onboard both ships of the bovine disease bluetongue.
Spain’s government and the country’s largest association of beef producers, Asoprovac, have both said the cattle came from areas free of bluetongue.
On Tuesday, the Spanish news agency EFE reported that although Turkey had originally agreed to take the cattle, satisfied they were bluetongue free, the animals were rejected on arrival because of disease fears.
A Spanish government source confirmed that the Karim Allah, carrying a reported 895 calves, was anchored just outside the Spanish port of Cartagena. The other ship, Elbeik, carrying 1,776 animals, continues to sit at anchor in Turkish waters off the coast of Cyprus.
Silvia Barquero, the director of Animal Equality Spain, said she understood that many animals were already dead and any still alive would be “suffering a real hell”.
Official veterinary inspections of both ships had been due to take place late last week in Cyprus and Sardinia, but neither ship approached shore to allow vets on board.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Spain’s agriculture ministry described the ships’ plight as a “failed operation by a Spanish exporter, who was going to sell the animals in Turkey, then tried unsuccessfully to sell them in Libya”. The spokesperson did not respond to questions about animal numbers, conditions on the ships or possible next steps.
The spokesperson added that the Karim Allah, “now arriving in Cartagena, left Spain with animals that had the corresponding health certificates and which were from areas free of bluetongue. The animals therefore left the port of Cartagena in good health.”
Last week, the ministry said the Elbeik, which left from the Spanish port of Tarragona, was also carrying cattle from bluetongue-free areas.
Maria Boada Saña, a vet with NGO Animal Welfare Foundation, said she feared that at least 100 animals on the Karim Allah were already dead.
“The Karim Allah arrived Sunday night at Cartagena, sailing away from a planned veterinary inspection Saturday morning in Sardinia,” she said.
She added that a Spanish agriculture ministry source said that although the ship was in Spanish waters, it had not yet requested entry to Cartagena port.
“That means we have no idea right now if animals are alive or dead,” said Boada Saña. “Other sources, though, have told me the Karim Allah has not asked for animal feed. To me, the way it sailed away from an inspection, the way it is waiting and not asking for food probably means most of the animals are dead.”
Dead animals would have to be removed from the ship by hoist and the operation could take at least a day, or much longer, depending on numbers, said Genoa-based lawyer Manuela Giacomini.
In a related development, a Spanish government source confirmed that Cartagena port had temporarily suspended the departure of livestock ships until the Karim Allah docks. The vessel continues to be anchored in front of the harbour and the decision to enter the port was up to the owner of the ship, the source added.
Prof Kristen Stilt, director of Harvard’s animal law and policy programme, who is writing a book about the transport of live animals, said it was an inherent risk with live transport that the animals would be rejected at their destination port.
Once labelled as rejected, Stilt said it was “very likely that no other country [would] accept them, as we are now seeing with the two vessels at sea with calves from Spain”.
Another problem for crew and livestock, she said, was the absence of an international arbiter that could assess claims of disease and make a binding determination. The result, she said, was “usually catastrophic in terms of loss of animal lives”.
Above – Fighting the fight against live exports – Dutch MEP Anja Hazekamp
Dutch MEP Anja Hazekamp said “the only way to stop animal cruelty related to animal transport” was to introduce a total ban on the export of live animals outside the EU.
“Both vessels concerned have EU certificate approvals, which means that they can load European animals and send them to third countries, such as Libya, Lebanon, Egypt and Saudi Arabia,” she said. “In total there are around 80 vessels with such a certificate.”
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Image: pixabay.com
Image: pixabay.com
