Fresh proof of cruelty as more animals die in transit

Date: 24/10/02

By David Cronin

FOR the second time in as many months evidence has emerged that an EU law on the live transport of animals is being contravened.

Inspectors who followed a lorry carrying 323 sheep on an 11-day journey between Spain and Greece found that 23 of the animals died before reaching their destination. Malnutrition was a key factor in their deaths.

The findings, by German-based group Animals Angels and Britain's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, follow another report last month, by Dutch and British inspectors, highlighting how 40 out of 500 pigs died during a gruelling 90-hour trip between the Netherlands and Greece.

The new report states that at no stage between leaving Burgos in Spain on 25 July and its arrival at a commercial port in Venice four days later was the lorry's driver seen checking the sheep.

This runs counter to an EU directive, requiring that vehicles specialising in animal transport must unload their cargo after 24-29 hours on the road, depending on the types of livestock being transported.

According to the report:

• A vet called by police in Venice found the wagon to be overcrowded;
• Two dead sheep were found at Bari - one died while miscarrying a lamb;
• Six dead sheep were found while the animals were being unloaded at Bitritto in Italy. The driver could not afford to pay a 100 euro-a-head fee for their disposal and was ordered by a vet to reload their carcasses;
• The driver told the inspectors and activists from the anti-cruelty groups that he did not have enough money to feed the animals properly.

The Eurogroup for Animal Welfare is calling for an eight-hour limit on journey times for lorries carrying live animals. David Byrne, the EU's food safety commissioner, is due to publish proposals on revising the Union's laws on animal transport by the end of this year.

Farm ministers from eight member states signalled their support for an eight-hour threshold during a recent Council debate.

But at least four others - Spain, Italy, France and Ireland - are strongly opposed to such a restriction.

Further evidence has emerged that an EU law on the live transport of animals is being contravened.