We are on the road in Germany, monitoring animal transports. One particular transport catches our attention: on board are unweaned calves from Ireland. These young animals, barely a month old, are still dependent on milk.
So young, and already on a journey of several thousand kilometers lasting several days. Their destination: Poland.
We are appalled by the poor planning and organization of this transport. There is only one driver. He tells us that the calves were transported by an Irish company from Ireland to France – by Ro-Ro ferry. There, they apparently received a rest and feeding break before being loaded onto his truck. In Belgium, according to his statement, he stopped again at a control post for 24 hours. The calves were allegedly unloaded and fed twice. Since we only intercepted the transport in Germany, we cannot know what actually happened to the calves up to that point. We will carry out thorough investigations and demand access to the transport documents.
What we do know is that this transport should never have been authorized. Even the section from Belgium to Poland is far too long for a single driver to manage. His driving times will inevitably be exceeded. By law, he must take a 9-hour break after 9 (or exceptionally 10) hours of driving before continuing. But this does not fit with the transport times for the animals. As so often, we document in this case as well that the journey for the animals is unnecessarily prolonged—by precisely 9 hours. During this time, the calves have to endure inside the truck, exhausted, hungry, and at the limits of their strength.
What makes matters worse: the calves cannot be cared for on board the truck. There are no suitable drinkers, meaning they remain hungry and thirsty for the entire transport. Their bleating is heartbreaking. Many of the young animals show visible signs of the exhausting journey. Their flanks are hollow, their eyes sunken, and some suffer from heavy nasal and eye discharge, coughing, and diarrhea. Liam’s face is completely covered with the excretions of another calf. On top of that, Liam and the other calves are crammed in far too tightly. There is not enough space for all of them to lie down. While Finn lies exhausted and wedged between the others, Rory has no room to rest at all. He is forced to stand over Finn and another calf, running the risk of stepping or trampling on them.
Once again, it is shocking that not even the already insufficient EU legislation is being respected—and that these young, vulnerable animals are subjected to additional suffering. As so often, economic interests prevail while animal welfare falls by the wayside. We are immediately filing a complaint with the competent authorities.
In the context of the revision of the EU Regulation on the protection of animals during transport, we are calling for a complete ban on these cruel, long-distance transports of unweaned animals!
You can find our dossier on the issue here.
