Today, our team waits at the Lithuanian/Polish border for a truck of a German transport company, which we know transports unweaned calves from Lithuania to Spain. It is snowing heavily and the temperature is below zero. We observe eight animal transporters crossing the border, but none of the German company. At 3:00 at night, after waiting for 17…

We arrive at the weekly New Holland Sales Barn auction at 8:40. When we enter the stable, we immediately note that a weak mare is down, lying flat on her side. However, she is tied to the feed trough and her head is being held up by the short rope. She is extremely emaciated with hip bones and spine clearly visible. A group of people have gathered…

When we arrive at the Hoover Sale Barn in New Holland at 9:30, the auction is already extremely busy. With approximately 450 horses for sale, the small stable is filled practically past its limit and many pens are overcrowded. The more valuable horses are tethered to overhead beams from both sides of their halter, presumably in an attempt to…

Our teams from TSB I AWF and Eyes on Animals give a six hours theory training on the EU Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport at the University of life sciences in Lublin. The dean of the University opened the training and we appreciate the fact that Animal Welfare plays an important role at the University. The audience…

On Tuesday 19 January our teams from from TSB I AWF and Eyes on Animals give a six hours theory training on the EU Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport. 5 official veterinarians and 15 WITD officers participate in the training. Due to the fact that this is a small group there are lively discussions and questions in…

Today is the practical training that follows the theory trainings in Lublin and Kielce. The road inspection is near a livestock market in Lagow, where a cattle market is between 5 and 9 o´clock on Wednesdays. It is minus 12 degrees this early morning, but fortunately after only 15 minutes of waiting time the first truck is directed to the place of…

Our team has been called to a limping mare named Gafra in Jacentów. On the place we are checking her legs, that seem to be okay, but we can locate an abzess in one front hoof.

We are opening the hoof to allow a puss to flow, we disinfect it and protect the hoof with a bandage. The owner should keep it on the hoof for three or four days. Next we…

In the early morning, we are following the calf transporter on the highway A9 when the drivers stop near Nîmes. They say the inside temperature is 6°C. We check the animals with a flashlight and most of them are resting. The younger calves in the trailer look more crowded and some of them are stepping on each other. Some calves are coughing and…

Before we follow a transport of unweaned calves from Lithuania to Spain, we want to

document keeping conditions for calves in Lithuanian dairy farms. The first farm we

visit has 100 dairy cows and about 30 calves. Five calves are only a few days old

and are kept in the cowshed. One of these animals is sick and being treated with

antibiotics.…