Uruguay | Canelones | Slaughterhouse Clay | Horsemeat import
[Translate to English:] Sammelstelle Clay: kein Schatten für die Pferde vorhanden.
[Translate to English:] Schlachthof Clay: eins der beiden Pferde ohne Ohrmarke (links).
When we arrive at the collecting station of the slaughterhouse Clay, we immediately realize that the horses still have no weather protection whatsoever. The broken shelters still have not been fixed although December is one of the hottest months of the year. The horses are kept in paddocks that offer no shade at all, not even from trees. Several of them are thin with prominent ribs and hip bones.
At the slaughterhouse, we see a group of approximately ten horses in a small open pen next to a roofed pen area. The concrete floor of this pen is slippery and we observe a horse slipping and almost falling. Although these horses are likely to be slaughtered on the same day, it is unacceptable to keep them in a concrete pen without shade on a hot summer day. Temperatures are rising up to 28°C today. We note that more horses are kept inside the roofed lairage.
Having a close look at the horses in the unroofed pen, we detect two horses without ear tags. This is a violation of Uruguayan law which requires that the official veterinarians at the slaughter plants shall not accept horses which are not identified by ear tags. These horses must first spend 40 days in a registered collecting station.
