06. March 2017

Poland | Skaryszew | Inspection of horse market - Day 1

[Translate to English:] Unpassendes Fahrzeug, Stress und schlechtes Wetter führt zu gefährlichen Situationen für die Pferde und Menschen.

[Translate to English:] Die Verwendung unpassender Rampen während der Beladung stellt ein ernstes Verletzungsrisiko dar.

[Translate to English:] Zustand der Rampe im Tageslicht.

[Translate to English:] Laden eines Pferdes ausserhalb des Marktplatzes.

[Translate to English:] Unser Team vermisst den Winkel einer sehr steilen Rampe (30° Winkel).

There are by far fewer horses than last year, we count about 250-300. Animals are not so squeezed under the roofed area, but still there is not enough space to keep safe distance between them. Some of the horses standing next to each other try to bite and kick. Again, no one cares about feeding and watering the horses, so the basic needs of many of them are not provided for hours. 

The atmosphere is very tense between the traders and the many people that have come from different organization. The traders are getting aggressive and the police needs to intervene a few times.

We see some slight improvements regarding the organization of the market and involvement of Veterinary Inspection. However, we still note violations to the technical rules of the EU Regulation 1/2005. We notice many small lorries with steep and slippery ramps. Unfortunately, there is no proper ramp at the market to unload the horses safely. Most of those lorries are too small and overcrowded, so that animals are not able to stand in their natural standing position.

We notify these concerns to the official vet, but the loading is not stopped.