Today, Eyes on Animals, Animal Welfare Foundation and Compassion in World Farming held a meeting with the (UECBV) European Livestock and Meat Trading Union to discuss what measures their Union could take to decrease the suffering of animals on board EU trucks heading to the border of Turkey. A Dutch transporter who regularly transports animals from Austria and Hungary to Turkey joined us, as he shares our serious concerns for the situation at the border and the abnormal number of trucks in violation being let through. The problems were set on the table and we then brainstormed together what action could be taken. The UECBV has agreed to inform its members of the Turkish import requirements and the most important EU welfare rules that must be paid better attention to, so that hopefully fewer livestock trucks will run into problems with the authorities once at the border, and the animals having to wait for hours and even days.. The UECBV will also have a word with the European Livestock Transport Union and try to get representatives from the main exporting countries, as well as from Turkey, to sit down at a table with us to finally draw up a plan of action and recognize the urgency.
Eyes on Animals -
23.01.2012 Further efforts to decrease suffering at Turkish border: Meeting with UECBV
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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.
