There is no excuse for the inhumane treatment of farmed animals, particularly at the point of slaughter, when they are at their most vulnerable. Indeed, any cruelty to farmed animals is unacceptable wherever it occurs in the world.
Recent exposés of the international trade in live farmed animals reveal cruelty and suffering to be routine and tolerated.
Compassion, in cooperation with various like-minded organisations, has exposed throughout Europe, Turkey and Egypt unacceptable treatment of animals in long distance transportation and their slaughter.
Even Britain is not exempt. After an undercover investigation documented cruel and unnecessary treatment of pigs, I repeated my call for the installation of CCTV in British slaughterhouses to ensure the law is strictly enforced and any transgressions prosecuted.
You may also recall my interview with Lyn White from Animals Australia. She documented shocking examples of cruelty when cattle raised in Australia were killed in Indonesia.
Thousands of live farmed animals are needlessly transported long distances across continents, including from continent to continent, and across the world’s oceans, often to countries whose slaughter methods would be considered illegal by those with stricter laws.
There is no justification for the long distance transportation of live farmed animals. Animals should be slaughtered in the country where they are raised. Their carcasses should be shipped to the countries where they are consumed.
A case in point is the Gracia Del Mar, a livestock carrier cargo ship which left Brazil for Egypt with 5,600 cattle.
On Friday, March 2, Animals Australia contacted Compassion with information they had received about the Gracia Del Mar. She encountered severe weather, apparently a freezing snowstorm off the coast of Algeria, which caused the deaths of 1,200 cattle.
My colleague, Peter Stevenson, immediately contacted veterinarian David Wilkins at the International Coalition for Animal Welfare (ICFAW). ICFAW represents animal welfare organisations, including Compassion, at the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The OIE is the international agency which is responsible for mediating solutions to issues such as the Gracia Del Mar. ICFAW immediately brought to OIE’s attention the unfolding tragedy with the Gracia Del Mar. On March 9, ICFAW followed up with a letter to OIE’s Director General, which said:
‘We are concerned that the competent authorities of Egypt and Brazil and the OIE did not pay sufficient regard to the OIE recommendations on the transport of animals by sea in dealing with this disaster.’
With the OIE’s failure to act quickly, ignoring their own guidelines, the tragic fate of the surviving cattle on the Gracia Del Mar was set in motion.
With 1,200 dead cattle on board, the Gracia Del Mar continued to sail along the north African coastline to Egypt. But Egypt refused her permission to unload anywhere in the country. She docked in Port Said, which is at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal. A veterinary committee inspected the Gracia Del Mar and found the health status of the surviving cattle, estimated to be 4,400, to be very poor. The committee rejected the shipment and refused permission to the Gracia Del Mar to remain in any Egyptian port, including Port Said.
The cargo ship was given permission to cross the Suez Canal. But, by the time she arrived at the port of Sokhna, a further 350 cattle had died, making a total of 1,550. The Sokhna port authorities refused the Gracia Del Mar permission to dock. She stayed outside the port for three days. During this time a further number of cattle, about 450, died. The total number of dead cattle now stood at least 2,000.
The Gracia Del Mar then sailed to Djibouti, which is a country in eastern Africa at the southern end of the Red Sea. Here, the surviving cattle, about 3,600 were unloaded and will stay for about two months for fattening.
If the journey that these surviving cattle experienced was not bad enough, the fate awaiting them most likely will include another voyage up the Red Sea from Djibouti possibly to the port of Safaga in Egypt for slaughter. Undercover footage shot last year in the slaughterhouse in Safaga documented the cruel and horrific methods used. Just consider for a moment the catalogue of suffering and deprivation these surviving cattle endured from Brazil, across the Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, and the Red Sea for their lives to end in inhumane deaths in an Egyptian slaughterhouse.
There is no justification for any long distance trade in live farmed animals, which must be replaced with a carcass only trade.
Meanwhile, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) must conduct itself in a more responsible manner. It claims to have a global leadership role on animal welfare and has taken upon itself the task of producing international recommendations on animal welfare, including transportation and slaughter. It must now do more to help developing countries to carry out transport and slaughter operations in accordance with its recommendations.
Even though the OIE failed to intervene in the case of the Gracia Del Mar, I welcome the statement it issued on April 3. The OIE reminded its member countries to comply with the OIE recommendations on the welfare of animals during sea transport.
The OIE statement stresses: ‘Specific standards were already adopted by the 178 OIE Member Countries several years ago regarding the obligations of the competent authorities of any importing country. These standards establish that, in the event of a refusal to import, suitable isolation facilities should be made available by the importing country in order to allow livestock to be unloaded from a vessel and held securely, without posing a risk to the health of the animal populations of that importing country.’
Further, the OIE made a commitment that it will ‘remind all Member Countries of the standards adopted by the OIE and the steps that can be taken to prevent this type of regrettable situation’ at its forthcoming 80th annual General Session of the World Assembly of OIE Delegates in May.
Compassion will continue to pressure the OIE to encourage and assist its member countries to implement its animal welfare recommendations. Indeed, animal welfare organisations throughout the world are willing to work with the OIE to help member countries with this implementation.
The tragedy that befell the Gracia Del Mar must never happen again. I know many of you agree with me. More than 40,000 emails were sent by Compassion’s supporters to the OIE urging them to implement policies to ensure it can respond ‘promptly and effectively to future incidents of this nature’.
Together, we can make a difference for farmed animals worldwide.
Please stop this cruel export of animals from any country in the world to another country as look what has happened to all these cattle. Now the cattle that are left will be cruelly slaughtered. The Gracia Del Mar is a very cruel tagedy. Cattle have feelings.
Please ban live exports of animals to overseas countries as travel is cruel and inhumane for animals at sea. It’s bad enough that they will be slaughtered but to have to travel as well is horrible cruelty and i cannot imagine the poor animals suffering. Stop cruel live exports now Please have some compassion.
THE GRACIA DEL MAR *DEATH SHIP* IS NOT THE 1ST HORRENDOUS TRAGEDY OF THE LIVE ANIMAL EXPORT SHAME, IT IS ONE OF VERY MANY & IT WILL DEFINATELY *NOT* BE THE LAST UNTIL THIS EVIL TRADE OF LIVE ANIMALS IS STOPPED. SHAME ON THE WORLD FOR ALLOWING SUCH A DISGRACEFUL, INHUMANE TORTURE OF FARM ANIMALS FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION… THE ONLY HUMANE WAY IS SENDING CHILLED MEAT & MEAT PRODUCTS… STOP THESE DISGUSTINGLY CRUEL *SHIPS OF DEATH NOW !!!!!!!
What happened to the cattle on board the Gracia del Mar should never have happened.To think they might be sent to Egypt to face the terrible treatment of torture and slaughter is unforgivable.The OIE needs to ensure that no animals suffer in transport or before/during slaughter.Animals feel the same fear,stress and pain the same as humans and should be treated with respect and treated humanely.The torture of these animals starts during transport by trucks,turns into a worse nightmare on ships and when reaching land would be hell on earth.Live export has to be banned worldwide.
Totally support complete ban on export of live animals. Not necessary in this day and age. But who funds the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) ? Who are the main people involved?
Why don’t we look at this organisation and the people involved – who have NOT DONE THEIR JOB properly and who have allowed this barbarity to continue ? Why not write individually to those people involved – if we can find out who they are – and let them know personally that they have, by their lack of action, personally allowed this cruelty to become so long drawn out. All of the people at the OIE should be ASHAMED of themselves – and we should all make them feel that shame – but WHO are they ?
Anyone know ?
Strange also how this continuing cruelty has not been covered in the newspapers – wonder why it’s not being reported, as it should be, long and loud and attention grabbing ……
The Gracia Del Mar is only one of many Live Animal Export Tragedies. There have been a lot over the last 35 years & many have been Australian Ships of Shame & UNTIL this Barbaric trade in Live Animals stops there will be many many more horrendous tragedies. PLEASE BAN LIVE ANIMAL EXPORT….. IT IS INHUMANE. TOO MANY ANIMALS DIE AT SEA & THE SURVIVORS DIE IN THE MOST BRUTAL, PAINFUL WAYS WHEN THEY ARE IN OTHER COUNTRIES WITH NO LAWS TO PROTECT THEM. THIS IS ANIMAL CRUELTY ON A MASSIVE SCALE. END LIVE EXPORT NOW!!
The Gracia Del Mar is NOT the 1st tragedy of the Live Animal Export & it will certainly NOT BE THE LAST… Australia has had it’s fair share of horrendous tragedies on these ships over the years, the animals have suffered beyond belief & this is only the ones we hear about. Thousands of animals perrish on these ships every year & the survivors are faced with ongoing cruelty & torture in the Countries they are sent to, there is NO laws to protect them from barbaric cruelty at slaughter. The industry has had more than enough time to clean it up as far as animal welfare is concerned & it obviously can’t be fixed, so it’s time to stop this despicable trade in live animals for good. How many more millions of animals will Australia allow to suffer so terribly?????
Live export has to be stopped.Animals suffer enough fear during transport and then endure more fear and pain while being slaughtered.Why can`t anyone see that this shouldn`t be allowed to continue? Obviously all the so-called monitoring,rules and regulations are not working and yet the animals are allowed to suffer.Heaven help the animals if this continues.
I’m sobbing while typing this.
I still CANNOT believe that animals are treated so brutally & sadistically. They feel pain & fear exactly like us, why can’t people understand or at least care about it?
I’ve decided to stop eating meat as I can’t bear what appalling things these animals have to go through all for me. Maybe if we made those who profit &/or inflict this sadism, experience a third of what millions of animals go through each minute, they would think again & become better human beings, but that will never happen. It’s just so unbearable.
Shame on the OIE & retribution on those who brutalise already vulnerable animals, it’s the lowest you can get !!!!
I agree with what Ann said [26/4/12] Why isn`t animal cruelty being exposed in the media? The public needs to be aware of the cruelty these animals are exposed to,all for the sake of live export.Live export has to be banned,it has no place in this day and age when there are alternatives available.Profit mongers,that`s what drives this horrendeous trade.Please show compassion and BAN LIVE EXPORT.
Ban cruel live exports of animals to overseas countries as it is inhumane and animals shouldn’t have to travel to some horror place where inexperienced abattoir workers cannot handle the slaughter of these poor defenceless animals. Ban cruel live exports now. I don’t eat meat anymore to help these animals and i feel healthier.
There must be a mandatory stop on all trading of cattle or any animal via these ships. All animals raised in a country must be used in that country. It is time to prevent these long voyages. What was allowed on this ship is absoluutely depraved.
As Paul MCartney said “If The World Had Glass Walls in Slaughterhouses” we would be horrified by what we saw. I wonder if people would be happy to sit down to a meal with meat if they could see through these walls. The Tragedy of The Gracia Del Mar was a horrible example of the cruel treatment we expect farm animals to go through so we can eat them. Animals should not have to travel so far for humans to eat. I don’t eat meat now.