Together with the Italian organisation Essere Animali, we inspect animal transports of lambs on the Italian highways before Easter. We find a truck carrying lambs from Romania. As is so often the case, the animals cannot reach the drinking troughs on one of the three levels - they are either too high or too low for the lambs. We talk to the drivers about this and they try to adjust the middle deck, but to no avail. The more than 200 lambs in this compartment are left thirsty - on a journey of more than 20 hours.
Another danger for the lambs is the truck's partitions. They often get their heads or legs caught in the gaps. We also talk to the drivers about this. At first they are dismissive, saying it is just the way the vehicle is built. But when we insist, one of them climbs into the truck and adjusts the partition. A small consolation.
But we can't leave the truck like this and try to organise a police check. But even after several attempts at various police stations, we were unsuccessful, as no patrol was available. When we reach the south of Italy, we take our last chance and inform the veterinary office responsible for the slaughterhouse. We were told that a vet would inspect the transport on arrival. But when we call again the next day, we are told that there have been no complaints about the transport.
We are disappointed as the inaccessible drinking troughs are a clear violation of the law. But we are not discouraged. With the evidence we have documented, we will continue to put pressure on the veterinary authorities.
