I defy anyone to watch the latest undercover exposé from Turkey of the transport and slaughter of sheep and cattle and not feel sickened and angry.
Here’s yet more gruesome footage in which unforgivable and inexcusable things are done to farmed animals when they are at their most vulnerable. Please understand that it’s as difficult for me and everyone at Compassion to watch this footage as I am sure it is for you. But please don’t turn away. We owe it to the animals to know how they’re abused in order to speak out on their behalf with authority.
As we saw repeatedly from previous undercover investigations in, for example, Egypt in 2009 and Indonesia this year, sheep, cattle and pigs are repeatedly abused in contravention of the international recommendations of the World Organisation for Animal Health on welfare at slaughter.
We cannot allow these situations to continue. Developments in Turkey are particularly distressing. In the first half of this year almost 600,000 sheep were transported to Turkey from the EU. This is more than twice as many as in the whole of 2010. At least 100,000 cattle were exported from the EU to Turkey in the first half of 2011. This is nearly twice as many as in the whole of 2010. On current trends, we could see more than 1 million animals travel the route this year.
The European Commission has several times been given detailed information about the welfare abuses involved in live exports to Turkey. We have told them how EU law designed to protect animals is regularly broken during these journeys and how protracted delays at the border – lasting hours, sometimes days – intensifies the suffering. Despite this the Commission has failed to take any effective action. If you want to write to the Commission please join us in taking action here.
All of this underscores the importance of keeping up the pressure against the long distance transport trade in animals internationally. Thank you for your continued support.
Please stop this horror for the animals ASAP!!! We can’t keep looking away….WE have to speak up for them, because they can’t
I am appalled and sickened by the increase in live animal trade across Europe – and indeed across the world. The traficking of farm animals over long distances is unnecessary. Animals should be killed and processed in their country of origin, near their place of production, rather than endure journeys over hundreds and even thousands of miles. They suffer from hunger and thirst as well as injury during transport. And this situation gets worse as human ‘wealth’ increases.
I fail to why EU animals should be sold in Turkey when there is documentary evidence that even the minimum EU conditions for transport are not observed. Please see the evidence at http://www.acompassionateworld.org/2011/10/turkey-live-exports/ where rules on slaughter are also clearly breached.
TRADE SHOULD NOT TRUMP ANIMAL WELFARE: I THINK THAT WAS STATED by José Manuel BARROSO DURING THE AVIAN FLU CRISIS AROUND 2008.
I AM DISGUSTED THAT THE EU ALLOWS THESE TRANSPORT AND SLAUGHTERHOUSE PRACTICES. WE SHOULD BE SETTING A MODEL FOR ANIMAL WELFARE – AND NOT BE COMPLICIT WITH THE BREACHES OF TRANSPORT AND SLAUGHTERHOUSE REGULATIONS SO CLEARLY SHOWN IN THE EVIDENCE CITED. IT IS QUITE OBVIOUS THAT ‘LAWS’ WILL BE FLOUTED IF IT MEANS A CHEAPER PRODUCT, AND THERE IS NO ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAW.
END THE PROBLEM NOW. IF EVERY EU COUNTRY IS COMPELLED TO END LIVE ANIMAL TRADE ACROSS NATIONAL BOUNDARIES, PRODUCERS DO NOT LOSE OUT. IMPORTERS ARE FORCED TO BUY PROCESSED MEAT FROM THE EU, RATHER THAN ‘PROCESS’ IT THEMSELVES