In March (12th-15th) and September (17th-20th) the first and second edition of an advanced level training course on animal welfare during transport took place in Rome (Italy) and Freising (Germany). The two four-day training courses were organised by "Better Training for Safer Food" (BTSF), an initiative by the European Commission. 

Attendants of…

Today we are in the court in Wloszczowa waiting for a judgment regarding a case of a cow with an ingrown horn in its head. We documented two injured animals at Lagow cattle market in September 2018. We sent a notification about the offence to the police. However, only one complaint was forwarded to the court by the police so far. The other case is…

On 13 August, we are informed that a truck with horses has been confiscated by the police on the way to the EU-approved slaughterhouse Infriba in Mar del Plata. Our team travels to Argentina to investigate and document this case. Out of the 32 horses on board the truck, at least eight are stolen. As the police has no place for the horses, they are…

This year we continue to meet children during summer camps to teach them about animal welfare. Like in previous times, our training includes a theoretical part in the form of a presentation, and a practical part based on the everyday work of our farriers.

During the theoretical training, the young animal enthusiasts learn about the concept of five…

Our team and investigators from our partner organisation, Israel Against Live Shipments (IALS), gather evidence of severe suffering of animals during long-distance transport from Lithuania to Israel. The documentation covers two long weeks of transport.

Our team is in Poland to control the transport of calves. We want to verify the compliance of…

On Tuesday evening is still 37°C when a veterinarian is called to check on a transport of chickens on the autobahn A5 in Germany. She experienced a lot, but the sight of the 4,800 layers is extremely depressing. The animals have already been transported in hot weather for one day without food or water by a dutch transport company. The hens are from…

Our team is trailing two trucks with cattle over 1.500 km, from the Smolensk area via Moscow to Samara, in the Southeast of Russia. The goal is to observe the compliance with EU Regulation No. 1/2005 concerning the required resting and feeding intervalls.

The traffic along the route is insane and so are the drivers of the trucks we are following.…

Only one truck with animals crosses the Turkish border today. It is loaded with young bulls from Romania. They are unloaded at a nearby stable to be watered and fed for a few hours. The animals are very thirsty and immediately start fighting for access to the water trough.

In the late afternoon, our team crosses the border in order to check if…

The weather forecast predicts temperatures of 39°C at the Turkish border for today. This is the first day since we started observing this border in 2010 that we do not see any animal trucks crossing the border. We are satisfied that finally our minimum demand that no animals are transported in hot weather is fulfilled, at least for today.