15.07.2009 Belgian cattle loaded on double-deck Dutch lorry from company Busser Bennekom without enough head room

busser_bennekom_2009

Eyes on Animals spotted a Dutch lorry from the company Busser Benekom. On board were tall Holstein cattle loaded at a cattle market in Belgium (in Brugge). For many of them, they only had 2-4cm of space above their backs! They could not hold their head in a natural position. On top of this, cattle with horns were loaded together with cattle without horns, potentially causing damage to eachother. The conditions for these cattle was unacceptable. We have filed a complaint with the AID about this. We will also share our results with campaign organizations so that the new Dutch rule about providing at least 15 cm of space above the highest point of a bovine indeed be passed and enforced.

Transport

All farmed animals are transported at least once in their lifetime. Journeys can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few weeks. Transport is known to be one of the most stressful experiences for animals. They are moved from a familiar territory to a new one and are held often under very crowded conditions. They get separated from each other and mixed with unfamiliar animals, which can lead to stress and fighting. Sometimes there is no water and feed available or the animals cannot reach it. Animals that wish to lie down during the journey are at risk of being trampled by the others. Sometimes conditions on board are very cold or very hot, leading to animals dying from hypothermia and suffocation. There are laws in place to prevent these types of problems, but there is very little official inspection during the journey to check if these laws are respected. Eyes on Animals regularly trails and checks livestock transport consignments to see if the welfare of the animals is respected during transit.

Eyes on Animals -

15.07.2009 Belgian cattle loaded on double-deck Dutch lorry from company Busser Bennekom without enough head room

Transport