Animals\' Angels - wir sind bei den Tieren | we are there with the animals

Improvements at Cooperl pig slaughterhouse in France

Animals’ Angels and PMAF had filmed both of Cooperl’s slaughterhouses in late October, 2006.  At both plants we observed horrible cruelty towards the injured and downer pigs.  The pigs were dragged by chains up the concrete ramps and left for hours without provisions (see first photo on the left). Others were kicked and dragged towards the end of the dock and finally violently pushed over the edge to drop over 1 metre, head-first into a tractor box (see second photo on the left). 
 
Since then, AA and PMAF met with the French ministry and the EU to alert them of this.  The French ministry immediately wrote a letter of warning to the slaughterhouse, and an official “letter of order” to all the government veterinarian offices in France to warn them to no longer accept the transport of downer animals nor the unloading of them at slaughterhouses.  PMAF and AA then made an edited and narrated French film using these images which we released to the French media.  The National French television channel, TF1 broadcasted a 6-minute documentary about it on their 19:00 news.  It was also written up in numerous newspapers and shown on local television channels.  Cooperl responded to our report and immediately took action to remedy these problems, and even invited us to come and view their changes in early December.
Cooperl installed three electric prongs right at the unloading docks to be able to kill seriously injured or sick animals on the truck and no longer drag them out by chains alive (see third photo on the left). 
They have also purchased a special rubber carpet to ease the unloading of mobile but laming or tired pigs.
They have also sent a notice to all their drivers and farmers that downer animals can no longer be transported and will not be accepted at the slaughterhouse for slaughter.  Those animals will instead be killed and the farmer/transporters will be fined by the official veterinarians at the plants. 
On this day a badly injured downer sow arrived on a large lorry with approximately 150 other pigs (see 4th photo on the left). Because Sophie could not use her two hind legs and was much weaker than the others, she had been badly bitten and bullied by the other stressed-out pigs during the transport journey.  Her entire face and neck were covered in blood and she was trembling, it was a very sad sight as she was suffering terribly.  However, because Cooperl fortunately now had the electric prongs at the loading docks, Sophie could at least be quickly and humanely killed on board the lorry and thus her suffering was ended relatively quickly after arrival.  Hopefully farmers will no longer let their sows get into such a terrible shape, but for the moment we are very happy of the improvements the slaughterhouse took to ensure that they can at least end the suffering of downer pigs quickly once they arrive at their plant.  Animals’ Angels wishes to thank Cooperl for doing the right thing, and making these improvements so quickly.
We will continue to visit Cooperl in the future, to ensure that things continue running smoothly.                               

3rd Oktober 2006 | Cattlemarket, Belgium
Animals’ Angels visited Anderlechts’ cattle market recently and was pleasantly surprised.  Anderlecht was considered for a long time to be a horrible market where injured and sick animals were observed being accepted, and beaten very harshly.  Many improvements have taken place since these observations were made public.  Now this market has 2 full-time veterinarians who check on the condition of every single animal.  We observed them also present at the unloading and the re-loading of each livestock truck to make sure this process is done in a calm manner.  We did not observe any seriously injured or sick animals.  All animals were able to walk and were in a stable condition.  The manipulation of the animals was conducted in a very calm way, involving very little human contact.  All animals had access to water.  The dairy cows had evidently been milked prior to being brought to the market as they did not have full udders.  As well, the market authorities sprinkle wood shavings on the floor to reduce slipperiness.
Animals’ Angels wishes to congratulate the market management for these improvements which have resulted in greatly reducing animal stress and suffering.  Animals’ Angels also wants to acknowledge the professionalism of the veterinarians which are present the whole time and appear to take their job very seriously.  Animals Angels visits markets throughout Europe and after this visit judges Anderlecht to indeed be one of the better livestock markets for animal welfare in the European Union.

September 2006 | Greece
At the request of the Ministry of Rural Development and Nutrition in Athens, Animals’ Angels had put together a list of requirement criteria for animal transporters. These criteria will now be incorporated into the approval requirements for animal transports and be effective as of 2007.

September 2006 | Greece
Animals’ Angels submitted a complaint regarding animal protection problems at a Greek slaughterhouse to the Ministry of Rural Development and Nutrition. For example, the animals delivered there have no protection from the sun or rain and no access to water. The unloading ramps are also totally unsuitable and constantly lead to injuries. A veterinarian from the Ministry flew to the island and inspected the slaughterhouse. There are now various requirements that must be met within a time period of 15 days. If this is not the case, the slaughterhouse will be closed.

2 July 2006 | Italy, Lebanon
The transport of European bulls to Lebanon has decreased due to the elimination of the export subsidies. However, the treatment of animals – e.g., bulls from Brazil – in the Port of Beirut continues to be completely unacceptable. Injured bulls are moved from the ship to the truck hanging by their legs. Animals’ Angels sent a Lebanon report to all chief veterinarians of the European member states and asked them in a cover letter to assert their influence on an international level – e.g., OIE – so that a minimum of animal protection will be practiced in Lebanon as well. Today we received a personal letter from the Italian chief veterinarian in which he informs us that Italy has presented this problem to the Lebanese authorities at an international conference in Paris and will later ask whether respective measures, e.g., for a proper unloading of the bulls, have been initiated. This means that we are in a position to recruit allies for the animals whom we cannot help ourselves.

26th June 2006 | Italy
An Italian police officer called our project manager for Italy, telling her that he had stopped a transport truck loaded with pigs and asking for clarification if he had correctly determined what did not comply with the rules and regulations and if his findings were enough to have the truck unloaded. The ANIMALS’ ANGELS project manager was of the opinion that, due to the maximum permitted journey time being exceeded, instructions should be given for the truck to be unloaded. However, she did not want to anticipate the judgement of the authorities and referred the police officer to a veterinary official for final judgement. The veterinary official decided: “unload …” The truck had to drive to the next supply station.

24th June 2006 | Switzerland
Our project manager for Germany was invited to give a presentation to representatives of the police, the veterinary authorities, the media and animal welfare organizations in Olten/Switzerland. A summary of the presentation was published in the “Rundschau für Fleischhygiene und Lebensmittelüberwachung” (Journal of Meat Hygiene and Food Safety) that is read by many veterinary officials in Germany. We were particularly pleased about this, because the enforcement of the regulations on animal welfare during transport by the veterinary authorities was strongly criticised in our presentation. The fact that the RFL (Journal of Meat Hygiene and Food Safety) printed this in spite of our criticism shows how seriously our criticism is taken.
 
23rd June 2006 | Canada
Since the time Animals’ Angels started to work in Canada, we have regularly informed the Ministry of Agriculture on the problems observed during animal transportation. Apparently, our reports are read very carefully. Today we received a letter from the office of the Canadian Minister of Agriculture. The political advisor of Chuck Strahl thanked us on behalf of the minister for the information received from us. Then she listed our activities in Canada and named the successes that we have already achieved. She concluded her letter with the request that Animals’ Angels should continue to provide the Canadian government with their experience and knowledge in order to make sure that the transport conditions for the animals can be improved. In the future, we will be able to refer to this letter, also when dealing with the meat industry.
 
19th June 2006 | U.S.A.
Immediately after starting to work for ANIMALS’ ANGELS in the United States of America, the project manager tried to make an appointment with the head of the “Animal Health Inspection Services” of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Agreeing a date for an appointment was difficult, because it seemed desirable that the Animals’ Angels managing director Christa Blanke and the project manager for Canada should also participate in the talks. Thanks to the kind generosity of Dr. Chester Gipson, it was possible to agree on an appointment that suited all of us. It turned out during the conversation that Dr. Gibson had very carefully read our reports and appreciated our professional and efficient way of working. He had already obtained references on Animals’ Angels from Canada, Australia and the OIE in Paris. These had apparently been so favourable that he was interested in cooperating with us. He offered to organise several meetings with influential representatives of the meat industry and agriculture in the next few months. These representatives from industry would hardly talk to us without Dr. Gipson’s help, as, in the United States, animal welfare activists are still regarded as terrorists not worthy of talking to. This opens up a real chance for Animals’ Angels to achieve improvements at the livestock markets and during animal transport. It is a tightrope walk between constructive cooperation with those who profit from the pain of the animals, while at the same time stressing our uncompromising commitment to the victims of this profit making business. The ANIMALS’ ANGELS project manager for the United States will commit herself to the animals true to our principles: professionalism, competence and perseverance.
 
5th June 2006 | Greece
For four years we have asked for a supply station to be established in the Greek port of Igoumenitsa, allowing for injured animals to be unloaded and animals on long-distance journeys to be provided with the rest period stipulated by the law. There are large, empty stables in Igoumenitsa that were built for this purpose but have never been used so far. Today the Ministry of Rural Development and Food in Piräus informed us that a company from Cyprus had rented these stables with the purpose of operating a supply station there. So, all the letters to Athens, the sometimes tough talks with the authorities in Igoumenitsa and the innumerable transport inspections in the port were not in vain. But it took a lot of time and hard work to enforce the implementation of a single measure that should be the most natural thing in the world and, in addition to that, is stipulated by EU legislation.
 
4th June 2006 | Romania
For more than a year now, two young students of veterinary medicine, on behalf of ANIMALS’ ANGELS, have inspected an illegal animal market in Calugareni that takes place every Sunday. Although closed for reasons of hygiene and to prevent the spreading of epidemics, the market still took place week after week. At the beginning, everything was just terrible: the brutal and silly way the animals were treated, the way the animals were accommodated, the way the animals were tied up and the way the animals were slaughtered without stunning …
The students worked extremely hard trying to convince the police and the local authorities to intervene. Today Ovidiu informed us on the successful outcome and attached a picture of an empty street. Animals are not traded, mistreated and killed there any longer. The police has enforced the existing rules and regulations.
 
1st June 2006 | Australia
For three years, we have sent reports to the stakeholders of the sheep industry in Australia, i.e. to the representatives of the farmers, exporters and handlers, but we never received an answer.
We were informed by an insider today that this industry hated ANIMALS’ ANGELS because we were constantly present, documenting everything that was by no means intended for the public and, in addition to that, filing charges against individual companies. After all, our influence seems to be bigger than we had thought. But, of course, it is sad that we have to measure our success by the degree to which we are hated …
 
24th May 2006 | Norway
In Norway, hundreds of reindeer are rounded up, transported and/or slaughtered on the spot under the most appalling conditions by the Sami. When we heard about this, we sent an ANIMALS’ ANGELS team there, with the aim of carrying out investigations into this matter and filming the massacre. The videos were broadcast on Norwegian TV all over the country and caused an outcry. We learned today that the competent authorities in Oslo hired three inspectors to enforce the law, making sure that the reindeer were slaughtered in accordance with the regulations. Also the spokesman of the Sami emphasised on TV that this kind of treatment of living beings did not comply with the ethics of the indigenous people in Norway and had to stop. We will check on this in the autumn of 2006 but assume that the undercover action carried out by ANIMALS’ ANGELS has been successful and that the annual massacre will finally come to an end.
 
22nd May 2006 | Australia
In animal trade, individuals do not count. That is why we are so proud of succeeding again and again in rescuing individual animals and ending their misery.
Dawn rescued six sheep – an eight-week-old lamb and a three-year-old ram were among the animals rescued. With an incredible degree of tenacity she found a new home for all six of them, first on a preliminary basis and then permanently. Only six animals out of millions – but for the six of them it is the only life they have. And for ANIMALS’ ANGELS it is a little bit like Christmas (because it happens so rarely).
 
20th May 2006 | Spain
Two years ago, Julia was in Ronda/Spain for the first time. A large horse market, where up to 1,000 animals are present, is held there twice a year. The accommodation, care and veterinary surveillance of the horses left much to be desired. On the 25th of May 2004, Julia made the following note: “to do: report on the market to the city council of Ronda with suggestions to better the conditions.”
This year, there was a huge tent with thick straw bedding, where the horses were accommodated in the shade. There were partition walls, so that fights among the horses did not result in severe injuries. Running water was available to fill the drinking troughs. The police were present, making sure that the market took place in a calm and quiet way. A veterinarian checked the health state of the animals and their documents.
To bring about changes at this market alone, Julia wrote innumerable letters, made countless telephone calls – in Spanish of course – and time and again visited the market.
 
19th May 2006 | Belgium, European Union
One of the age-old problems in animal welfare is to provide people having the power to bring about changes with adequate information on the suffering of the animals, and in such a way that improvements become a reality. For us, participation in the Advisory Group on the Food Chain, Animal and Plant Health and Animal Welfare of the EU in Brussels presents such an opportunity. Christine asked for speaking time there, allowing her to give a presentation on the conditions under which “dairy” cows were transported in Europe. Her documentation on these so-called downer cows (although prohibited in the EU member states, these downer cows, i.e. cows that are unable to get up without assistance, are frequently subjected to transport), met with great interest among the EU Administration and the industry of agriculture. For the time being, this does not help the cows. But the information – thoroughly investigated and convincingly presented – now is on the desks of the people who are in a position to change the situation. This is a success that we would not have expected a year ago.
 
18th May 2006 | Canada
Canadian livestock markets used to be a nightmare – for the animals and for the ANIMALS’ ANGELS teams. Melissa inspected the market in Kitchener, Ontario. This time, there were no injured animals, but five government inspectors were present to supervise the market. This is an enormous success, because, in the past, the markets took place in a completely uncontrolled way. But despite of all of this, it remains a nightmare for the poor animals …
 
18th May 2006 | Australia
In the past, animal welfare was not really a matter of concern to the government authorities of the State of Western Australia. However, now the National Consultative Committee on Animal Welfare (NCCAW) of Western Australia took the following minutes of its 35th meeting on 28th April: The Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Truss, is requested to make sure that the animal welfare regulations of the State of Western Australia are adhered to.
The animal welfare organisation ANIMALS’ ANGELS had published offences against these regulations on its Internet web site. This web site is of international interest. Therefore, there might be repercussions on the Australian trade with animals. This must be avoided.
This formal acknowledgement reflects Dawn’s and Iris’s calm and patient dedication and competence to which this success can be attributed.
 
5th May 2006 | Italy, France
The horse market in Maurs, France has already cost Animals’ Angels a lot of time, money and effort. But it was worth while. The improvements that have been achieved for the animals during the past four years have considerably eased the pain and suffering of the animals. However, not all of the long-distance transports to Italy comply with the regulations yet. On 4th May, the day on which the market took place, Lesley therefore phoned the Captain of the Gendarmerie, asking him to pay special attention to the horse transports destined for Italy at the motorway tunnel near Fréjus.
Also the Italian veterinary official on the other side of the tunnel was informed. He stopped a transport truck overloaded with horses. One of the mares that had not been separated from the stallions was so severely injured that she had to be slaughtered on the truck. The truck was escorted to the nearby slaughterhouse. An injured mare and two stallions were unloaded there. The transport company had to send another truck to collect these animals there. In addition to that, a fine in the amount of 6,196 euros was imposed.
 
1st May 2006 | Bulgaria
When ANIMALS’ ANGELS started to commit themselves to the animals on the transport trucks, the teams were often laughed at by the transport scene and their competence was questioned. Today, Tea, for example, gave a presentation to 150 veterinarians in Bulgaria, dealing with the subject of animal welfare during transport. Whether these ladies and gentlemen will actually get active is still written in the stars, but they have at least heard (from someone who knows what she is talking about) what they could do if they wanted to.
 
1st May 2006 | Canada
During past controls, the conditions in the auction stable of Selby / Canada in many ways did not comply with the requirements.
Melissa inspected the stables again and noted: There are 13 new pens now, equipped with food and water for the animals. This is new and the result of the Animals’ Angels principle of committing themselves to the animals in a professional, competent and dedicated way. Melissa has consistently put this into practice here.
 
May 2006 | Australia
So far, the police in Australia did not have anything to do with the inspection of animal transport trucks. However, in the meantime, Dawn carried out three police training courses in Western Australia and prepared the material for three additional courses. This means that more and more police officers will have the knowledge and expertise to perform professional inspections and will also do this. We had not expected such a success when we started to work in Australia. Up until today, animal welfare did not play a role in the police training in Western Australia.
 
26th April 2006 | Germany
ANIMALS’ ANGELS started their work in Germany ten years ago. At that time, blood was literally pouring out of some of the transport trucks. Today, Lesley and Tatjana inspected a transport truck loaded with cattle belonging to a German transport company in Düren. The drivers behaved in a calm and thoughtful way and drove carefully. The transport truck complied with the regulations. Tatjana sent a fax to the transport company, expressing her appreciation for the exemplary transport. This also occurs – but NO transport would of course be even better than a good one!
 
25th April 2006 | Netherlands
For nine years, Animals’ Angels tried in vain to enter into discussions with the animal welfare authorities of the Netherlands. After innumerable investigations, reports and complaints submitted to Den Haag and Brussels, Lesley, in the tenth year, was invited to a conversation in the Ministry of Agriculture. The government representatives frankly admitted that, solely due to the continuous pressure exerted by Animals’ Angels for years, the following measures were taken: Implementation of a control system for transport companies, with the possibility of withdrawing their licence. Regular meetings between Dutch and Italian veterinary officials, with the aim of agreeing on a common procedure for dealing with those transport companies that, for years, have been making immense profit by not complying with the rules. Meanwhile, this is so successful that the same system is scheduled to be introduced with Germany, France, Spain and Belgium. The appropriate “cooperative complaint form” exists already. It took a very long time, but the tenacity displayed by Lesley and the teams in investigating Dutch transports finally yields successes.
 
13th April 2006 | Romania, Greece
For years, the transportation of Romanian lambs to Greece for the Easter feast has been a matter of concern to us. Nobody who has ever heard the pitiful crying of the tiny animals for their mothers, will forget this. This year, Iris and Annette visited the export stables for lambs in Sibiu /Romania. All the stables were empty. The Animals’ Angels team documented how Romanian lambs were re-tagged to become “EU lambs”, thus making it possible to import the lambs to Greece without any problems and selling them at a high price there.
 
Also in Sibiu, there is an export stable for horses. The forty “slaughter” horses there were no longer destined to be exported to Italy but were to be slaughtered in Romania. The Italians will send refrigerated trucks to collect the meat. For several weeks, there was a complete export ban on Romanian horses and by today, the export of live animals has not yet been fully resumed. This is one of the biggest successes achieved by Animals’ Angels in recent times!
 
11th April 2006 | Australia
Vans and small trucks are not usually inspected by the ANIMALS’ ANGELS teams. However, on the way home from a saleyard in Midland / Australia, Dawn stopped a small truck into which 25 pigs were crammed so tightly that they could only lie on top of each other. Dawn contacted an RSPCA inspector who gave instructions for the pigs to be unloaded. Proceedings have been initiated; the maximum fine may amount to 2,000 $. A small success.
 
5th April 2006 | Australia
The transportation of rabbits has often been a matter of concern and frustration to us, as there are no real regulations to protect them. Sometimes, however, fortunate coincidences happen. When inspecting the saleyard in Mundijong (Australia), Ezzo and Sharon met a man who bought an exceptionally large number of rabbits. They learned that the animals were to be used for the “training” of greyhounds. This is illegal in Australia. The ANIMALS’ ANGELS team informed the Greyhound Association. The man lost his racing licence. A small success.
 
5th April 2006 | Australia
So far, animal welfare activists only on rare occasions have held talks with the powerful meat industry. The presence of ANIMALS’ ANGELS in this industry sector has changed this. The meat industry, the Australian government and animal welfare groups established a reference group (West Australian Livestock Welfare Reference Group) consisting of about 30 members. The ANIMALS’ ANGELS team ‘Dawn’ participates in group 3 (training of all people involved in the export and transport business).
The establishment of this reference group can be attributed to the work of ANIMALS’ ANGELS in Australia.
 
28th March 2006 | Hungary
For years, the Hungarian authorities did not consider it necessary to confirm the receipt of documents to us , let alone reply to us and furnish us with any relevant information. In the meantime, nobody there can afford this kind of behaviour any more. Today, the chief veterinarian of the border control station of Nagylak, Hungary wrote a letter to Christine. (She had mailed him a report on an Animals’ Angels transport inspection, complaining that lambs from Romania were accommodated on four loading levels instead of three and therefore, due to the low ceiling height, had little headroom).
“We are grateful that you informed us on this problem, pointing out the possibility of similar transport vehicles arriving in the future. We will have a particular focus on this problem during our border inspections but would like to ask you to continue to help us in ensuring better animal welfare. In that way it will be possible, in the future, to avoid offences of that kind against the existing regulations.”