Investigation in Uruguay: Slaughterhouses Clay, Sarel & El Amanecer
[Translate to English:] November 2022, während des EU-Audits: Pferde in angemessener Verfassung
[Translate to English:] Dezember 2022, nach dem EU-Audit: schwer verletztes Pferd bleibt unversorgt
[Translate to English:] Dezember 2022, nach dem EU-Audit: überfüllte Weiden, kein zusätzliches Futter
[Translate to English:] November 2022, vor dem EU-Audit: ausgemergeltes und lahmes Pferd
[Translate to English:] November 2022, während des EU-Audits: geringe Anzahl von Pferden, zusätzliches Futter
A TSB|AWF team returns to Uruguay in November 2022 in order to document how conditions for the horses vary before, during and after an audit of the EU Commission. The inspection takes place between the 21st and 25th November 2022. Based on our observations in 2018 and the EU audit report from that year, it is obvious that the slaughterhouses manipulated the EU audit system. EU audits are always pre-announced and give the slaughterhouse operators time to prepare.
Our observations this year show, once again, that the image presented to the EU inspectors has been manipulated. Before and after the audit, we document large numbers of horses (150-300) at the slaughterhouses, and many are in poor condition (injured, sick, emaciated). During the audit, we see a maximum of 60 horses, and they appear to be healthy.
New shelters have been built and broken roofs repaired in readiness for the audit. However, the number and size of the shelters is still inadequate for the large number of horses usually present. Several pastures and holding pens still do not provide any shelter at all and the horses remain fully exposed to the sun, wind and rain.
Traceability continues to be an ongoing issue. The few horses we see present during the audit are duly marked with ear tags. Shortly after the audit, we find again horses without ear tags.
In the past, we have repeatedly documented the brutal handling of horses by slaughterhouse staff when they are unaware they are being watched. When workers see us filming, their handling of the horses becomes gentle. It is to be assumed that during inspections they use no violence. Just two weeks after the audit, we covertly film horses being hit with brute force during unloading of a truck.
We have repeatedly informed the EU Commission of our concerns regarding manipulation of what is presented to the auditors by the slaughterhouse operators. We will continue to report our findings and request an import stop. You can help by signing our petition, which you will find here: