21. September 2020

Germany | Bautzen | Training on Animal Transports: Day 1

Today, our team is in Bautzen. Together with veterinarian Dr. A. Rabitsch we are holding a seminar on the EU Regulation (EC) 1/2005 on live transport. Our training is targeted for police officers and official veterinarians. In total, 23 police officers and four veterinarians are attending our training in Bautzen.

Our training consists of a…

02. September 2020

Daily Mirror: "Desolate death of one British calf fuels call for livestock export ban"

The British newspaper Daily Mirror reports on our research on long-distance transports of young calves. Only a few weeks ago our investigators found a British calf on a fattening farm in Spain. The young animal was lying exhausted and gasping for breath in the blazing sun. The owner of the fattening farm was unwilling to spend any money on the…

31. August 2020

Poland | Bodzentyn, Lagow | Monthly Report August: Cattle and Horse Markets

Lagow. For unknown reasons the market is closed today.

Our team is on their way to the cattle market in Lagow. We want to inspect the market for animal welfare violations. When we arrive, we are surprised to find out that the entrance to the market is closed. The market is not operating today. However, we cannot find out why. We will look into this and continue with our animal welfare inspections as…

31. August 2020

Poland | Swietokrzyskie | Monthly report August: Farm Animal Service

Pokrzywianka. Helping suffering animals in need is our first our priority.

This year, our Farm Animal Service (FAS) team has been forced to pause their work for several months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Since July our team is out in the field again. However, many animals did not receive any trimming during our absence. Therefore, our farriers currently receive many calls from farmers asking for help.

Our first…

31. July 2020

Poland | Swietokrzyskie | Monthly report July: Farm Animal Service

Michalow. Our team is placing a special horseshoe on a foal’s hoof. It turns out to be a quite challenging task.

The coronavirus crisis forced our Farm Animal Service (FAS) team to pause their work for three months. Finally, we can continue with our field work programme ATET. Our programme is focused on helping farm animals in need. Due to the long-enforced break, we receive a lot of calls this month from farmers asking for our help. The coronavirus crisis…

30. July 2020

France | Port of Sète | Live transports by sea

Our team observes how dock workers are loading the ETAB with straw for the next journey.

Our team is in France for an investigation in the EU port of Sète. From this port, live animals from Europe are often shipped across the Mediterranean to the Maghreb states and the Middle East.

During our investigation, we document two animal transport ships in the port of Sète: ALONDRA (year of construction: 1995) and ETAB (year of construction:…

28. July 2020

Belgium | Flemish Region | Transport of unweaned calves to France

The calves have not been supplied with milk replacer during transport. They show visible signs of hunger by mooing loudly and biting on the bars of the truck.

Our team is investigating in Belgium to monitor the transport of unweaned calves. The term “unweaned” is used to describe calves up to the age of eight weeks since these young animals are still reliant on milk.

On our first investigation day, we covertly observe how livestock trucks from Germany are delivering calves to a Belgian assembly centre…

27. July 2020

Poland | Bodzentyn, Lagow | Monthly Report July: Cattle and Horse Markets

There are no animals at the Lagow cattle market.

This month our team starts their work with inspecting the horse market in Bodzentyn. Lately, the market became a place where farm equipment can be bought instead of horses. We have visited this market several times in the past months, however, we did not see a single horse being sold at this market for a long time. The situation at the Lagow cattle…

21. July 2020

Bulgaria | Kapitan Andreevo | Live transports by road to Turkey

The long waiting hours in the extreme summer heat are causing unnecessary suffering to these animals.

Our team is in Bulgaria in the village of Kapitan Andreevo which marks the external border of the EU with Turkey. This is the tenth year in a row that our teams have been on the lookout for animal transports in extreme temperatures. During this investigation we inspect 28 animal transporters in total. The vehicles that leave the exit point of…