Poland-Germany | Trailing of a transport with calves
At a gas station near Warcaw our team waits for transports with calves from the Baltic States. These calves are sent on the longest journeys in Europe, even though it is not possible to supply them on the vehicle according to the requirements of the EU regulation for the protection of animals during transport.
At 3:30 am the team sees a transporter with calves heading West. At a short drivers break our team has the possibility to inspect the loading conditions and speak to the drivers. They loaded 210 calves from Lithuania, with an average age of 8 weeks. They all seem to be fit, have enough bedding material and surface area. Nevertheless they are constantly bellowing and licking the metal bars of the truck, because they are thirsty and it is not possible to give them any feed supply in the vehicle. The calves are on their way to Spain, for further fattening. According to the planning they will unload and rest the calves in Ibbenbüren in Germany. Our team wants to be sure and follows the truck for the next 6 hours to Ibbenbüren, where it arrives at 14:00 h. The calves are unloaded into the stables and certainly fed, but unfortunately the owner does not allow our team to enter the stables and observe the feeding of the calves. Not the right way to create trust in the transport business.