We are observing short-distance transports on the route between Hamburg and Münster when a truck catches our attention. We decide to follow it.
At a stop, we take a closer look. From inside the vehicle, the faces of young heifers look back at us. In total, 34 animals from Denmark are on board. Parts of the floor are visible, indicating that insufficient bedding was likely used; overall, however, the conditions are not poor. Nevertheless, some animals appear tired. They watch us with quiet curiosity. The driver tells us that the animals are destined for Morocco. This surprises us, as the truck is heading toward the Netherlands, not south. We continue following it.
After several hours, the vehicle enters a control post near Rotterdam. Here we learn what the next stage of the journey looks like: the heifers will remain at this facility for at least 24 hours together with many others—several trucks are already on site. After that, they will be transported to Sète in France, where they will be loaded onto an animal transport vessel. After three nights at sea, they are expected to arrive in Casablanca, Morocco.
A long and strenuous journey lies behind and ahead of these young animals, who are transported across Europe and beyond to be used for “milk production” in Morocco.
We are currently gathering further information on this transport and preparing a detailed report for the Danish authorities, in which we set out our findings and make our report Dairy cows from the EU to Morocco – sold and slaughtered in local markets available (only in German available), so that they can better understand where these animals, after years of exploitation in dairy farming under largely unknown conditions, may end up. We have repeatedly documented that cows from the EU are sold in markets in Morocco. This raises concerns that these Danish heifers could also end up in similarly poor conditions, highlighting the lack of control over what happens to the animals once they leave the EU.
