We are on the road in northwestern Germany. Our team starts in the north of Hamburg to gain an insight into transport operations in this area. Traffic jams, locked gates at the destination, and people turning us away: despite these challenges, we repeatedly look into the eyes of animals and are able to accompany them a little on what is often their final journey.
The chickens Martin, Alexander, and Johannes are calm and dozing when we are able to observe them during a short stop at a petrol station in the middle of the night near the slaughterhouse. They have spent only a few weeks in this world before being placed in crates and loaded onto a transporter. Despite the sad scene, we are relieved to see that the animals have been given more space than usual this time and have not been on the road for too long. Nevertheless, it is heartbreaking as we have to leave the animals at the gates of a huge slaughterhouse.
We experience something similar when we follow a pig transporter. Although the animals very likely have as much space as required by law, Marianne, Lieselotte, and Marie can barely lie down. The sheer size of the slaughter facilities and the systematic way in which such a huge number of animals are killed leaves us speechless – a reflection of our society’s greed for profit and meat.
All collected information is incorporated into our documentation and provides valuable insights for future field planning. Unfortunately, we cannot help Martin, Alexander, Johannes, Marianne, Lieselotte, and Marie. Experiences like these, however, remind us once again of an important part of the mission and ethics of Animals’ Angels, which drives us every day and fills us with gratitude when we are able to fulfil it: to stand by the animals on their final journey and show them that we see them.
