Animals’ Angels follows a transport of piglets to their destination in Portugal.
The animals are only about a month old. When we find the transporter in the middle of a traffic jam, with outside temperatures rising to 30 °C, the piglets are not visible from the outside and one could think that this transporter is not carrying any animals onboard. But we can hear and smell the piglets and stay with them.
These animal children were loaded in Holland and Belgium and are travelling over 2000 km through five countries for one purpose: to be slaughtered in Portugal.
In some compartments, the piglets have limited space and some are forced to lie on top of their companions to get some rest, in disregard of the hot temperatures. Additionally, the water system is turned off, even though the legislation requires a constant access to water for these animals.
Some piglets are fighting, many are covered with scratches and the weaker ones are dominated by the stronger. Daan is standing in a corner, he appears introverted. His right front leg is extremely swollen and visibly painful, he is not putting any weight on it and seems to avoid any unnecessary movement. Nevertheless, him and his companions have to endure a journey of more than 23 hours.
Animals’ Angels will continue to document the impact of long-distance transport on animals.
