Animal Welfare Foundation/ Tierschutzbund Zuerich and Eyes on Animals have one team on each side of the border of Bulgaria and Turkey. This week the temperatures are extremely high, with a peak of 43°C.  Since years we have been sending reports and complaints to the EU Commission and the Member States about the immense animal welfare problems…

Today teams from Eyes on Animals and TSB|AWF began inspecting EU livestock trucks passing the Bulgarian border and trying to enter Turkey. First we checked on Petline and Meat & Milk stables on the Turkish side, because we received information that 22 trucks with fattening cattle on board (in total approx 500 cattle) from the Czech Republic were…

From 16th to 17th of June, teams from AWF|TSB trailed three transports with calves from Lithuania and from Poland to Spain and to the Netherlands. All transports were carrying unweaned calves in the age of less than 8 weeks. Those animals are still depending on milk, milk replacer or electrolyte solution and on special feeding equipment and…

It is our fifth day of work with ITD (Road Transport Inspection) from Lublin area, accompanied by Veterinary Inspectors. This time we inspect one truck, but with plenty of violations. The example how NOT to transport poultry: the curtains are inappropriate, not allowing proper ventilation; the crates are destroyed, creating a) risk of injury and…

We inspect a sale market of lambs in southern Poland and follow a long-distance transport from this sale to a slaughterhouse in Italy. The truck carries 800 lambs, loaded on four decks in crowded conditions and with insufficient headspace. The lambs differ in sizes and ages and most of them are still on a milk diet. The driver makes several breaks…

Every day between 20-30 animal consignments are passing Bulgaria on the way to Turkey, most of the animals need a 24 hours rest in a control post according to Reg. (EC)1/2005. The Bulgarian authorities suddenly closed the Control Post of Royal Haskovo. We have no information about the reasons behind. Presently, only the newly opened control post in…

The practical part of the training is on the highway and at an assembly station. We are accompanied by a team from MDR television. On the way to the assembly station the police observes a small trailer loaded with poultry. The animals are in danger to fall out and they are not efficiently protected from the cold temperature and the rain. Especially…

Together with the expert on animal transport, Dr. Alexander Rabitsch, we give a training on livestock inspections for the traffic police in South Brandenburg. The training is organized by Dieter Adam, a policeman with years of experience in livestock inspections. He presented the basics of the police work during these inspections. Ten policemen and…

Today our team is present at the last meeting of the working group for the Sheep Transport Guides as part of an European project called Animal Transport Guides (http://animaltransportguides.eu/). At the meeting different stakeholders are present to express their concerns regarding animal welfare during the transport of sheep. The objective is to…