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…

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…

Our team is investigating two assembly centres in Mooroopna, Victoria. They belong to kill buyer Peter Loffel. The first one is located next to a main road and is visible to the public, while the second assembly centre is well hidden in the forest. Peter Loffel has been supplying Meramist abattoir for many years. The abattoir is over 1,500 km away…

We meet up with informant Kim. She wants to remain anonymous. Her name has been changed. Kim has been investigating the fate of retired racing horses for a long time.

We talk to Kim about traceability and food safety issues. She explains that the owner has to fill out a horse vendor declaration stating any medical treatments the horse has…

We observe the Lamar slaughterhouse on two consecutive days. It is very hot, 34°C. The outdoor pens are crowded. The horses have no protection from the sun and heat, which contravenes applicable EU regulations.

Three months earlier, in November 2019, this place was inspected by auditors from the University of Louvain in Belgium on behalf of…