In a small town in New South Wales, we meet Margaret, who has been investigating about the slaughter horse trade for a long time. She explains our team members that the current system of traceability for slaughter horses in Australia is unreliable, because it relies exclusively on the honesty of the owners and kill buyers. Margaret has previously…

Today our team meets Elio Celotto at the entrance of the Meramist abattoir. He is the director of the Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses (CPR).

We ask Elio about the traceability system for horses in Australia. Elio explains that the only traceable horses are thoroughbred racehorses. Their traceability, however, is only guaranteed from the…

It is our second investigation day at Meramist abattoir. When our team arrives at 6:45 a.m., a truck with horses is already waiting at the unloading ramp. It belongs to kill buyer Les Evans. A leather whip is used to unload the horses. We detect a sick white gelding that cannot walk normally. He should have been deemed unfit for transport according…

We observe the Meramist abattoir on the day before the horses are slaughtered. Throughout the day, horses are being delivered. They are crammed together in open cattle trucks, which are inappropriate for the transport of horses. They are stressed, and therefore frequently biting each other. The unloading process at Meramist abattoir is…

Kill buyer Brian Munro is the biggest supplier of horses to the Meramist abattoir from Queensland. When we arrive at his assembly centre at 9 a.m., a truck is already parked at the loading ramp. The workers are busy rounding up horses in a paddock behind the buildings. Once the horses are in the pen area, we observe that the workers separate the…

Today, our team is investigating the assembly centre of kill buyer Les Evans. He is one of the major suppliers of horses to the Meramist abattoir. From the road, we see about 20 horses with slaughter tags in a green paddock in front of the farmhouse. However, the main part of the assembly centre for “slaughter” horses is about 800 meters south of…

Our team is investigating the cattle market in Bodzentyn. We estimate that there are about 200 animals at the market. They are mainly young animals. Whilst we are taking a photo of a young calf to document the situation on the market, one of the traders starts to verbally attack our team. A few seconds later, we are surrounded by yelling traders.…

This month our Farm Animal Service (FAS) team starts their work on a farm in Siekierno. We are visiting this place for the first time. This small farm belongs to young farmer. He keeps two young horses and three cows. The animals are kept boxes and outside on paddocks. The owner agrees with the rules and guidelines of our ATET programme and signs…

The horse auction in Echuca is where kill buyers purchase their horses. Kill buyer Peter Loffel, whose assembly centres we have been observing in the previous days, also buys horses at this auction. Equipped with hidden cameras, we are going to the auction as a team of three. The auctioneer moves from pen to pen above the horses. His roaring voice…