Uruguay | Canelones | Slaughter horse collecting station | Horsemeat Import
Collecting station of Pedrazzi, Clay’s main supplier.
Collecting station of Pedrazzi, Clay’s main supplier.
Collecting station of Pedrazzi, Clay’s main supplier.
Pedrazzi is Clay’s largest supplier and shipped 5.761 horses to slaughter last year. When we drive by his collecting station, we see cattle in the holding pens, but only a few horses in the back of the pens. We find it strange that the largest supplier of Clay has so few horses.A neighbour of Pedrazzi tells us that he buys horses at different places in the north of Uruguay and on his way south. He then drives by his farm to fill up the trailer with a few horses he keeps at his collecting station. The horses that are already on board the truck are usually not unloaded. The transport from north to south would last 8 to 10 hours, if Pedrazzi would bring the horses straight to the slaughterhouse. However, as he picks up horses at many different places along the way, the transport time can be extensive for the horses that are loaded first. Furthermore, a lot of stress is created when horses are put together in new groups in a small space.
When we ask workers of Pedrazzi if they have horses for sale, they reply that there are only a few riding horses on the pastures, which are not for sale. They do not mention the horses that are in the pens together with the cattle. It is very likely that these horses are destined for slaughter.
