The Irish government is coming under pressure to rein in livestock exports, while in Cape Town one livestock carrier has kicked up a huge stink.
Ethical Farming Ireland has written to the Irish agriculture minister Charlie McConalogue demanding changes to the way animals are exported by sea following a joint investigation with the NGO Israel Against Live Shipments where the health of animals is checked at the point of departure and on arrival.
Following the 10-day voyage of Vroon’s Ganado Express from Greenore port to Haifa last month with 3,304 small weanlings and young cattle onboard, the Israeli NGO was able to document the arrival of the shipment, and the departure of cattle in trucks to a quarantine centre.
Images and video (see below) show plenty of nasal discharge indicating high levels of respiratory illness. A combination of high humidity, poor ventilation and high levels of ammonia will have contributed to this. The bulls were completely caked in faeces indicating the pens were not cleaned adequately during the journey. Diarrhoea was also prevalent, due to a combination of factors including poorly stored feed with images of hay exposed to the elements. A number of bulls had gone blind, likely from high levels of ammonia.
Of greater concern to the Irish NGO was the level of ringworm observed in numerous animals. Any animals unfit for travel should have been removed. Parts V.1.2 and V.1.4 of the Veterinary Health Certificate for exports between Ireland and Israel stipulate that a government vet must inspect the animals to ensure there are no signs of infectious or contagious disease prior to boarding.
“Not only are they spreading disease to third countries but ringworm is a zoonotic disease and can easily spread to humans,” states the letter sent to the Irish minister.
Ringworm doesn’t affect the meat but it’s highly contagious and very difficult to get rid of. It causes intense irritation and itchiness, which would have been worsened by the unsanitary conditions on the vessel.
“Poor nutrition, overcrowded pens, stress, lowered immunity and humidity will all have contributed to rapid spread amongst the young bulls,” the letter states.
Portuguese authorities have been alerted by Ethical Farming Ireland to be aware of the risk of spores spreading the disease further as that is where the ship was heading after Israel.
Once in Haifa, the bulls were transported in trucks not suitable for livestock and at least one bull had his leg trapped through the bars of the truck. The design and construction of the trucks are in breach of Article 3(c) of EC Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport. Furthermore, there is no straw or sawdust in the trucks, again breaching EU legislation.
Under the Court of Justice Zuchtvieh ruling (Case C–424/13), EC Regulation 1/2005 remains in place until the final destination is reached. Neither the port of arrival nor the quarantine centre is the final destination.
“It is clear that the Ganado Express does not have an adequate ventilation system and the crew are not sufficiently trained in animal husbandry,” the letter to the Irish minister states, adding: “This vessel should not be permitted to transport any more cattle from Ireland. It is also apparent that procedures for observing animals at loading need to be reviewed.”
Meanwhile, another livestock carrier has been making plenty of headlines this week in South Africa. Authorities in Cape Town launched an investigation yesterday after a foul stench swept over the South African city.
City officials inspected sewage facilities for leaks and an environmental health team was activated before the source of the smell was discovered: a ship docked in the harbour carrying 19,000 live cattle from Brazil to Iraq.
Zahid Badroodien, the official in the mayor’s office in charge of water and sanitation, confirmed via social media that the source of the “sewage smell blanketing parts of the city” was the livestock carrier Al Kuwait, owned by Livestock Transport and Trading from Kuwait.
The National Council of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NCSPCA) sent a veterinary consultant onboard the ship to assess the welfare of the animals.
“This smell is indicative of the awful conditions the animals endure, having already spent 2½ weeks onboard, with a build-up of faeces and ammonia,” the NCSPCA said in a statement.
“The stench onboard is unimaginable, yet the animals face this every single day.”
Wouldn’t it be cheaper to use rabbis to slaughter then ship chilled carcasses?
This is just barbaric and flies in the face of any aspirations on compassion to animals. As a trade it should be abolished and any meat products transported in frozen form.
You have to wonder what the farmers involved in the shipment think, i am sure you would never get away with this on farms in Ireland!
The farmers know but turn a blind eye.
Hope passengers are treated better than this…………