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

ANIMALS’ ANGELS and the Spanish animal welfare organization ANDA follow two transporters from Cádiz with pregnant heifers and young bulls from Holland destined for Gran Canaria. The animals are en route almost one week – during the second transport segment of around 68 hours the animals stay on the truck the entire time. The animals have to be reloaded onto a different vehicle for the last part of the journey on the island because the streets are too narrow for the truck. Apparently the Canarian buyer had not considered this beforehand. His solution is to reload the animals onto a construction vehicle for the last part of the trip. The loading into the construction rubble container is unproblematic but when the container is lifted onto the vehicle it is standing at a 45 degree angle so that the animals are pressed into one another in one corner of the container. Being quite lucky, Lieke, Daan and the 31 others arrive in their new “home” without injury. They have to exchange the juicy green meadows of their Nordic home against a dusty pen in a desert-like environment. It is unlikely that they will ever chew a blade of grass again for the remainder of their lives. But it can be expected that they will soon suffer from skin diseases, will not do well with the change in feed and that they will suffer in the dusty heat. The Lisbon EU Treaty confirms the obvious: “Animals are sentient creatures.” Day to day life for “utility” animals in the EU looks different – they are traded and treated as goods. ANIMALS’ ANGELS advocates for the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty as well as for stricter laws to protect the “utility” animals and application of such laws.

An ANIMALS’ ANGELS Team escorts a transporter with calves on its way from the farm to the Port of Rosslare – the destination is France. The drive to the port takes more than 6 hours since the driver keeps stopping – including at a private residence. He lets the fully loaded truck stand there for over an hour. The long time that the calves stay on the transporter before they even board the ferry to France is not recorded anywhere and is not included in the journey time calculation. In addition to the ferry time of at least 19 hours the animals thus have to suffer many hours beforehand. ANIMALS’ ANGELS will do something about this.

On highway A7 ANIMALS’ ANGELS Team spots a small animal transporter with a trailer in which a cow is lying. Since it happens again and again that cows are transported to the slaughterhouse although they can no longer walk, ANIMALS’ ANGELS brings about an inspection of the transporter. The cow remains lying in the trailer during the inspection. In consultation with the Hamburg veterinary office the Hamburg police determines that the transporter may continue on but that the cow must be examined by a veterinarian at the slaughterhouse to certify its fitness for transport. ANIMALS’ ANGELS will continue to monitor the case.

ANIMALS’ ANGELS meets with representatives of the Glowny Inspektorat Weterynarii in Warsaw and receives information on measures of the ministry with regard to ANIMALS’ ANGELS complaints. The complaint referred to a staging point in Poland where calves from the Baltics were issued new documentation. The responsible regional veterinarian was replaced. The discussion was very constructive.

A workshop is held with ANIMALS’ ANGEL and the Italian animal rights group LAV, where the joint approach in the area of animal transports is discussed.

ANIMALS’ ANGELS observes app. 9970 sheep being delivered on 16 transports to the Al Messiah for live export to the Middle East for slaughter (without pre-stunning). Transports to the port are reasonable, with a few problems of non compliance observed. Again sheep are able to leap from the backs of some trucks through open pens down onto ramps which were set at the height of the deck below. The State Animal Welfare Unit inspectors who are responsible for the animal welfare legislation within WA are not here and have not attended the port to check on the welfare of sheep or cattle for live export for over 10 months.

App.18760 sheep were observed and documented whilst being delivered on 28 transports to the Al Messilah for live export to the Middle East for slaughter (without pre-stunning). A large number of sheep with possible eye infections was noted. Incidents of possible downers (unable to rise) and sheep trapped under sheep were common. Many drivers fail to check on the welfare of the animals after they park their truck and no authority cares to make sure they do. Also sheep were able to jump from open pens onto ramps set at a lower level. AQIS who are responsible for ensuring compliance to health requirements of the Australian export regulations are not present for much of the loading today. The State Animal Welfare Unit inspectors who are responsible for the animal welfare legislation within WA are not here and have not attended the port to check on the welfare of sheep or cattle for live export for over 10 months.

On their latest visit ANIMALS’ ANGELS discovered that quite a lot of animals are exported to Croatia. So we visited the BIP Letenye – Goricani again to see the condition of the animals being transported. We observed five animal trucks with piglets from Netherlands to Croatia.

ANIMALS’ ANGELS guides through the exhibit at the FU Berlin. A small but interested group of students has appeared and is asking questions about Animals’ Angels and our work. Afterwards we show the film “... we are there with the animals” by Katja Devaux. The aspiring veterinarians are taken aback by what they see. They ask questions and an animated discussion ensues. ANIMALS’ ANGELS will appear once again in the context of the exhibit at the university – for the long night of sciences in Berlin.

ANIMALS’ ANGELS and the French animal rights organization PMAF are invited to Tulle (Cedex) to hold a training course for 75 police officers and 6 veterinarians on the provisions for the protection of animals during transport. After the theoretical part several inspections take place along the highway. One of the four inspected transporters is a horrible sight: The loaded pigs are lying on top of one another; blood is running down the partition wall, one pig – Emma – is dead. The police impose a fine on the transporter and a second transport vehicle is called to reload a portion of the pigs. ANIMALS’ ANGELS thanks the police officers for their commitment and the good work together.