After cattle had to wait for three weeks in trucks from the EU on a ferry at the port of Tangier-Med in Morocco, the ferry was finally allowed to dock yesterday evening. The bulls, which were transported from Portugal as animals for slaughter, had to endure catastrophic conditions: crammed into the truck, only provisionally fed and standing ankle-high in their own excrement. One animal died and decomposed among the others. Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation, comments:
"This current, terrible case once again highlights how urgently we need a ban on live animal exports to countries outside the EU. Unacceptable things are done to animals, especially on long journeys. The fact that the EU is aware of these conditions, tolerates them and takes no steps to put a stop to animal suffering on truck and ship transports is an indictment of the European community. Animal welfare does not stop at the EU's external borders! The EU Parliament and EU Council must significantly improve the draft for a new EU transport regulation presented by the Commission and put an end to this atrocity."
According to the EU Commission's current draft for an EU transport regulation, there are no plans to move away from transporting live animals over long distances and to countries outside Europe, nor are there any plans to move away from transporting animals by ship - even though this is particularly distressing and adequate care and support for the animals at sea cannot be guaranteed.
Note to editors: You can find out more about the background to the case and the conditions for the cattle on board the trucks here in the Animals' Angels press release "Emergency situation for EU cattle in the port of Tangier, Morocco" from 22.1.2024.
