Turkey’s Danube Shipping Company has been fined and will face significant clean-up costs after crew on its 54-year-old livestock carrier, Alferdawi-1, were caught last week dumping sheep carcasses into the Red Sea. Around 25 rotting corpses washed up near the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
, were caught last week dumping sheep carcasses into the Red Sea. Around 25 rotting corpses washed up near the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada.The very old ship is understood to have encountered problems entering Suez, with high temperatures onboard killing many animals as the vessel slowed down. The ship was en route from Romania to Jordan.
Once Egyptian authorities had tracked it down, the Alferdawi-1 was diverted to the port of Safaga. The owner, who was immediately fined, will have to cover the expenses for the recovery of dead animals.
Ocean transportation of living animals and supply of animals for such transportation should be banned and punished painfully per immediate effect.
By no means it should be accepted that an archaic view of immaculateness of meat – from times there were no freezers and coolers – can lead to any kind of animal suffering, death by exhaustion, heat death, suffocation, death by diseases etc. of animals, which are solely being transported for the reason of nutrition.
Every single religion and each of their leaders should accept and preach from now on, that immediate (flash)freezing after slaughter, frozen transportation and warehousing, controlled defreezing and cooling is a pure and clean way, when it comes to preparation of permitted nourishment.
Leaders asked about how and why should not hide behind the logic that freezers and coolers are excluded simply because they have not been mentioned in their holy books/literature.
Such an answer would insult Almighty, as it is his earth these leaders are expected to reign!
The push is on in Australia to ban live exports of sheep and cattle and the Labor party, now in opposition but looking more and more like winning the next federal election, has promised to make banning a reality. The export focus will then be on expanding the chilled meat trade which is currently air freighted and already very successful. Freezing is of course another sensible and hygenic option with transport by intermodal sea carriage utilising reefer containers. It will take time for the transition to take place in circumstances where the farm lobby in Australia and in many parts of the world enjoys a great deal of political influence. Pressure to heighten awareness of the awfulness and disgrace of the live export trade must therefore be maintained along with the rigorous enforcement of live export carrier regulatory compliance. The final part of the equation must be to continue to educate and persuade Middle Eastern, Asian and other consumers that humanity, decency and the high quality of meat from well cared for, unstressed and humanely slaughtered animals go hand in hand. Knowledge will ultimately triumph over mediaeval belief systems. Mankind will then look back in disgust at current live export practices.