'We see the individual'

What motivates you in your work?

After initially volunteering to help stray animals, I wanted to do something for so-called ‘farm’ animals. While we cannot save these animals, seeing them, being with them, and making them visible drives me in this work. Society treats animals as commodities and fails to recognize that each and every one is an individual. But that is exactly what we see.

How do you prepare for your missions?

There are two aspects: a strategic and a logistical one. We first discuss exactly what we want to investigate and how we aim to achieve it. We also need to clarify, for example, which permits are required for crossing borders and which vehicle is suitable for covering 5,000 kilometers in a week. In addition, there is the choice of equipment, which varies depending on the country, season, type of animal, and type of transport. We have to be prepared for all circumstances.

You often sit in the car and wait. How do you deal with that?

Yes, that’s true—we do spend a lot of time waiting, but we are still active. We must never lose sight of the road or miss any animal transport. That’s why we are always at least in pairs; one person can work on the computer or do research while we can take shifts and sleep in between when we are on continuous missions.

You see many animals suffering or injured. How do you deal with that?

The bitter truth is that when you are confronted with pain every day, the emotional shock diminishes. It is similar to a surgeon who daily cuts into the bodies of humans and animals in order to save them. This initially worried me because I do not want to lose my empathy. Over time, each of us learns that it is necessary to process this pain in a personal way. The most important thing is to be aware of it.

Despite this sad side – what successes are there?

There are no major successes, but some small progress: official bans or instructions to transport companies to make improvements. This certainly does not change the fundamental situation for the animals. But I think that avoiding transport at 40 degrees is already a small improvement. And when transport companies are fined by the police, that is also progress, because it increases awareness that laws must be obeyed. I am particularly proud that, through persistent pressure, we have finally succeeded in achieving a revision of the EU regulation on the transport of animals.

Myriam is one of the cases that has stayed with me the most. She is a lamb we found on a truck. She was weak, and other lambs were trampling over her. We managed to unload her in an emergency situation. She did not continue her journey to the slaughterhouse, as she now lives in a sanctuary. The effort we invested in her, and the luck that was on our side, make such cases very rare.

This interview was published in our 2023 annual report.