Suffering of calves on 1700km road journey to Israel

Calves being transported from Lithuania to Israel have been found in extremely overcrowded conditions on the trucks, lying in a thick layer of manure and suffering from heat and extreme thirst. 

These conditions – suffered on a journey of two weeks for a distance of 1700km – caused the death of some animals, but also made others so exhausted that they had to be dragged by their legs from the trucks. 

The investigation by Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) and Israel Against Live Shipments (IALS) trailed the calves along their journey and called Road Traffic Inspection in Poland when they spotted evidence of suffering on the trucks. Official veterinarians were called and found multiple violations of Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005, which states that animals shall not be transported in a way likely to cause injury or undue suffering.

“This was the most tragic sight I have seen in all my years working as an investigator in animal transportation,” says Maria Boada-Saña, investigator and project manager of AWF. “It is incomprehensible how official veterinarians in Lithuania approved these transports.” 

Polish officials immediately decided to unload the suffering animals and started administrative proceedings against the Polish transport company Konrad. However, after a 24-hour-long rest at a stable, the animals were carried in three trucks instead of two to Slovenia, where investigators from IALS found terribly weak and exhausted calves upon arrival at Koper. 

From here, the transport continued by sea, and the animals were loaded onto the livestock vessel Holstein Express, destination Israel. The calves spend four days at sea without any authority to assess their welfare, or ensure they are treated in compliance with EU legislation. 

“Our experience shows that sick animals are usually left untreated, and their dead bodies are regularly dumped into the Mediterranean Sea,” says Yaron Lapidot, spokesperson of IALS. “Investigators have repeatedly found European cattle and calves washing up dead on the beaches of Israel, having been thrown overboard from livestock vessels.” 

After arrival in Haifa, the journey of these animals is not over yet. The calves are loaded onto small trucks in which the temperature can exceed 37°C and carried on to quarantine stables where they are kept for a month before being sent to fattening farms. 

“By removing the live import tax in 2014, the Israeli government sealed the fate of hundreds of thousands of animals going through hell on the journey to Israel. Ever since then, promises by our agriculture minister to reduce the numbers have not materialized and essentially the public continues to subsidise the imports,” says Yaron Lapidot. “This year we expect that Israel will import about 850k live animals, an increase of 400% since 2014.” 

 

The two organisations have sent a film highlighting the suffering of these animals to EU Commissioner Andriukaitis, and are calling on the European Commission to stop the long-distance transport of live farm animals to Israel and other Third Countries. 

“AWF and IALS are the latest of many organisations which are constantly revealing serious welfare problems in the long-distance transport of animals,” says Reineke Hameleers, director of Eurogroup for Animals. “The suffering of animals on such journeys is inevitable, and the European Union must stop this cruel and archaic practice.”

Live export footage shows Australian cattle dragged by ropes before slaughter in Indonesia

Exclusive: An investigation is under way after cattle were allegedly sold illegally outside supply chain

The Department of Agriculture is investigating a live export company after it received footage showing Australian cattle being pulled to the ground with ropes and slaughtered without being stunned in a carpark underneath an Indonesian mosque.

International Livestock Exports has suspended all supply to one of its Indonesian abattoirs over the breach, which was reported to the department by Animals Australia.

ILE identified itself as the exporter after the department shared the footage it received from Animals Australia with all relevant exporters, in an attempt to identify the cattle.

The footage, seen by Guardian Australia, shows about a dozen cattle in an underground carpark near the grand mosque in Medan City in North Sumatra. They were killed as part of Eid al-Adha last month and a complaint was lodged with the department on 13 August.

Four of the cattle were identified as Australian. The footage shows them being pulled to the ground by ropes around their legs and rope halters, then being dragged by their tails. The slaughter happened in full view, and sometimes within metres, of other cattle.

Ear tags had been removed but a combination of ear notches and brands identified them as cattle produced on a station in the Northern Territory and shipped to Indonesia by ILE.

The slaughter was reported to the department as a breach of the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (Escas), which was introduced after a 2011 Four Corners investigation. Exporters dealing in Australian animals can sell only into an approved supply chain

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A director of ILE, Mike Stanton, told Guardian Australia the cattle had been illegally sold outside the supply chain from a facility in Indonesia, and ILE had suspended the facility it believed was responsible. “We did that as soon as we were able to work out where the leak has been,” he said.

The department told Guardian Australia it did not comment on investigations that were still in progress.

Legislation to appoint an independent inspector general for live exports passed the Senate on Tuesday.

Stanton said there were 140 facilities in Indonesia approved as part of ILE’s supply chain. “If you’re exporting a lot of cattle there’s going to be issues along the line,” he said. “We do our best. “I know a lot of people think we don’t, but it’s bloody hard.”

He said the treatment of the cattle shown in the footage, particularly the long minutes taken to drag them to the ground, was “awful”.

“We are in the business of selling animals for slaughter but we want it done in an appropriate manner,” he said.

ILE shares an office in West Perth with Emanuel Exports, the company responsible for the 2017 voyage of the Awassi Express in which 2,400 sheep died of heat stress.

An investigation by the department into allegations Animals Australia paid for the footage from the Awassi found no evidence to suggest the footage was manufactured or illegally obtained.

ILE was issued a show-cause notice in October because of its association with Emanuel and another sister company, EMRS Rural Exports, which both had their export licences cancelled. ILE handles 70% of live cattle exports from Broome.

The Australian Live Export Council chief executive, Mark Harvey-Sutton, said the slaughter was “unacceptable” but had to be put in context of the industry’s broader track record.

“Let’s not forget that exporters are also very proactive in this space and often actions are undertaken by exporters ahead of what the regulator looks to do, and that was the case this time,” he said.

Harvey-Sutton said Australian exporters had “very good systems in place” and the council worked “very closely” with both producers and exporters to keep them informed in cases of Escas non-compliance.

There have been 172 complaints of non-compliance since Escas was established in 2012 – 70 by Animals Australia.

Its strategy director, Lyn White, said: “It is deeply concerning that Australian cattle have once again been subjected to roping slaughter in Indonesia, and that the only reason this has become known is because of the efforts of a charity.

“Escas was established to prevent such horrific treatment. The fact that it can still occur speaks to the ever-present risks of exporting animals and losing control of their welfare.”

White said Escas breaches should result in the automatic suspension of an export licence.

A review conducted by Guardian Australia of the first five years of reports found only three cases in which punitive action was taken against exporters.

Self-reported breaches by exporters are not publicly listed and investigated if they are made and rectified within a set timeline.

The chief executive of the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association, Ashley Manicaros, said the slaughter involved just four of the 400,000 cattle exported from Darwin to Indonesia each year.

Manicaros said exporters should be given more credit for the work they had done to reform after the crackdown in the live sheep trade.

“Those operators that don’t meet those standards will be the ones that have to get to the standard if they want to remain in business,” he said.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/11/live-exports-footage-australian-cattle-dragged-ropes-slaughter-indonesia

 

 

 

WAV Comment – Theresa Villiers has always spoken in defence of the animals; especially calling for a live export ban.  As the (now) Minister at Defra, she now has the chance to take this issue further and get a ban.  Please follow the links below and add your voice.

Minister Theresa Villiers

 

The live export trade causes immense suffering for animals and must be stopped. During journeys of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of miles, animals frequently experience exhaustion, overcrowding, stress, pain, hunger and thirst – in many cases, simply to be slaughtered on reaching their destination.

Worse still, once these sheep and young calves are exported, we have no control over the conditions in which they are kept and then killed – conditions that would often fail to meet UK standards.

Live exports are not only cruel, but unnecessary. The vast majority of British farmers find UK markets for their products, or export meat instead of live animals. There is simply no excuse for this trade.

Theresa Villiers has consistently supported the campaign against long distance live transport, most recently by joining our 2019 Stop Live Transport event in London. The new Secretary of State has also worked to raise the profile of this issue in Parliament: in 2017, she tabled a Bill calling for a ban on live animal exports for slaughter and fattening after the UK leaves the EU.

Now, Theresa Villiers is in the perfect position to deliver on that demand by making sure that the Queen’s Speech includes a Bill that will end the suffering of thousands of British animals each year.

Compassion supporters like you have always been on the frontlines in the fight to end live exports. Now, with such vocal support for our cause from the new Secretary of State, this could be a landmark moment for our farm animals. But it’s crucial that we call on Theresa Villiers to act now to end the export of live farm animals for fattening and slaughter.

Now is the time for change – let’s unite our voices to end the needless, cruel UK live export trade