In March 2021, the livestock carrier ELBEIK made international headlines: with almost 1,800 young bulls on board, the vessel wandered the Mediterranean for almost three months. The animals were detained on the ELBEIK because of suspected bluetongue virus. 179 animals did not survive the cruel transport, the remaining animals were taken to the…

This week we were working for the animals as trainers tutors at the Better Training for Safer Food (BTSF)  a European Commission training initiative aimed to improve knowledge about animal welfare. BTSF trains official veterinarians so that they can ensure compliance with and monitor animal protection laws regarding live transports.

Our project…

Our team is driving to Gorzow in Western Poland to join the road transport police (ITD) for animal welfare inspections of live transports. During two shifts, we inspect six vehicles in total.

Among them, two trucks with German pigs being transported for slaughter, two vehicles with Danish piglets on board on journeys exceeding 8 hours for further…

During a seminar for police and official veterinarians, our project manager Iris Baumgärtner gives a lecture on welfare problems during live transports. She is supported by Dr Claudia Eggert-Satzinger, an official veterinarian with many years of experience with inspections of live transports. The main topic are the requirements of the European…

The facts by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) are on the table. When transported via sea, there are more animal welfare risks for all species than when transported via truck. And yet, the EU Commission is not ready to ban these cruel transports across the Mediterranean. How can that be possible?

EFSA is responsible for providing…

The Bar S Feedlot in Shelby, Montana, can hold up to 1,800 animals. It serves as a horse assembly centre for the Canadian slaughter company Bouvry. Slaughter horses from all over the United States are gathered here before being transported to Bouvry's slaughterhouse in Calgary (Canada). There, the horses destined for the EU market stay in feedlots…

Live export tragedies at sea are man-made. This is again being demonstrated by the case Nader-A. At the beginning of September, around 800 young bulls were transported from France to Algeria on the vessel called Nader-A. The unloading of the animals was refused in Algiers due to a bureaucratic problem. After three weeks of wandering around the…

Almost three weeks ago, the animals were shipped from France to Algeria. There, the unloading of the animals was refused due to a bureaucratic problem. Since then, the bulls have been wandering the Mediterranean, penned up on a 45-year-old junk ship, the Nader-A. Up until now we do not know how many animals are still alive. We suspect that the…

Together with our partner Animals' Angels USA, we visit the weekly horse sale in New Holland, Pennsylvania. Again, we are here to check the conditions of the animals during the sale and to monitor the kill buyers’ activities.

It is a slow sale day, over half the barn is empty. We note that there are a lot of emaciated horses, and several have…