Last weekend, Animals‘ Angels trailed a truck transporting early-weaned piglets from Germany to Spain. The carrier violated the mandatory transport and resting times for pigs and for this he could be prosecuted. But what is most terrible is actually the fact that it is at all possible to carry out such transports inside the EU – which recognizes animals as sentient beings.
The baby piglets are just three to four weeks old. Under natural conditions, their mother would unwean them at the earliest at the age of 13 to 17 weeks. If at all, they weight no more than 10 kg. They are gathered up in many different stables in Germany to be then freighted to Spain in a five-deck truck.
During transport, Max, Jörn and the other 2.000 piglets scream constantly. It is crowded inside the truck and partly they lie on top of each other. Hot air and a penetrating smell of ammonia flows out of the vehicle. It is impossible to properly care for the animals during transport.
The piglets are slaughtered 24 hours after their arrival to Spain. We stay on-site, feel helpless and light candles for the little ones. On Monday morning we talk to the owner of the slaughterhouse. As there are plenty of pig farms around the slaughterhouse and in the adjoining regions, we ask him about the necessity of such transports. Why do the piglets have to come from Germany? His answer: that’s simply business.
These transports are a pathetic display for the European Union, which, by treating animals as goods, fails to meet its own requirements: to recognize animals as sentient beings. We will take steps against the carrier in this case. And we will advocate the EU commission, the parliament and the member states to stop long distance transport.
