Stop Long Distance Transport of Animals for Slaughter

Handle With Care: Stop Long Distance Transport of Animals for Slaughter - Sign Petition Here

A global campaign backed by the world's leading animal charities is calling for an end to the long distance transport of live animals for slaughter.

The Handle with Care Coalition has today released shocking new undercover film footage of the global traffic in live animals and is calling on governments worldwide to bring an end to this trade.

The coalition includes all the leading UK-based animal welfare charities: the World Society for the Protection of Animals, Compassion in World Farming, the RSPCA and the International League for the Protection of Horses (ILPH).

The film shows how farm animals are being routinely shipped around the world in overcrowded and filthy conditions, on journeys that can take several weeks. Every day thousands of cattle, sheep and pigs die en route from disease, hunger and stress.

World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) Campaigns Director Leah Garces said: "British people are growing increasingly concerned about the way animals are treated and I am sure they will be horrified by the cruelty and suffering that can clearly be seen in this new undercover film."

"We were determined to show people the truth of this hidden and brutal traffic in animals - if you see it for yourself - you just know it must be stopped."

In Europe thousands of horses suffer in crowded conditions on illegal journeys of up to 36 hours from Spain to Italy to be slaughtered for meat.

Speaking on behalf of the International League for the Protection of Horses, Jo White, Director of Campaigns and Communications said: "Long distance transport to slaughter is the biggest single abuse of horses in Europe, with around 100,000 involved in the trade. 

The ILPH is committed to ending this unnecessary suffering and with the review of EU legislation next year, urges the public to demonstrate their objection to this inhumane trade as a matter or urgency."

To launch the campaign in the UK animal lovers are taking to the streets of London with the symbolic placement of an iconic red routemaster ‘campaign' bus in Trafalgar Square.  Tuesday 12th February 10am to 4pm

Visitors to London and workers in the capital will be invited to get on board the bus to view special screenings of the investigative film about the cruel trade and sign up to the global campaign.

Compassion in World Farming Chief Executive Philip Lymbery said: "The cruelty these animals endure is completely unacceptable in the 21st century. This trade is one in which millions of animals suffer cruel and unnecessary journeys each year.  It must stop."

RSPCA spokesman David Bowles said:  "The long distance transport of animals is an emotive issue and one that people care passionately about. The RSPCA is urging everyone to support this campaign so that we can stop this cruel and unnecessary trade."

The transport of chilled and frozen meat has been going on for more than 125 years. But still, millions of cattle, pigs, horses, sheep and other animals still suffer and thousands die while being transported unnecessarily long distances each year just to be slaughtered on arrival.

The coalition urges people to see the evidence at www.handlewithcare.tv and add their name to a letter of protest which calls on governments to stop the cruel and unnecessary long distance transport of animals for slaughter.

The campaign highlights four of the worst routes involving sheep from Australia to the Middle East, cattle from Brazil to Lebanon, horses from Spain to Italy and Pigs from Canada to Hawaii.

Beyond cruelty, beyond reason by WSPA

Most of us know what it feels like to be on a packed commuter train, however, imagine if you had no choice but to stand for anything between 36 hours and three weeks, cramped against other passengers with no way to move or escape: The situation is completely new to you, there is no relief, no air, and those around you are equally petrified and begin to soil the carriage. Food and water is restricted, you fall over and break an arm or leg and then see one of your fellow passengers die...

Everyone would agree that this would be a totally unacceptable experience for any one of us, yet this is the day to day reality for millions of animals that are unnecessarily transported long distances every year. If we don't accept this treatment for humans nor should we for animals, especially when there is no need for them to endure these journeys.  We have been able to transport chilled and frozen meat around the world for more than 126 years since 1882, when the ship Dunedin left New Zealand on a 98-day voyage to London carrying for the first time 5,000 frozen sheep carcasses the 12,000 miles to Britain.

Why therefore, despite this available technology and equipment, do staggering numbers of live animals still endure cruel and unnecessary long journeys across land and sea?
With many animals being so emaciated upon arrival in their country of destination, as they do not recognise the pellets they are fed on board as food, that they endure further journeys to fattening plants before slaughter.

Eating meat is a fact of life for most people, however cruelty need not be and most consumers have absolutely no idea of the cruelty involved in the process of producing the meal on their plate.

In the case of Hawaii, a tourist hot spot,  up to 15,000 pigs are transported each year  over 7 days, 4,000 miles, by truck from the chilly planes of Alberta to the harbour in Oakland, California, and then without touching the ground onto ships heading for subtropical Hawaii. These pigs are forced to lie in their own faeces, urine and vomit (pigs suffer nausea induced by motion sickness like humans) during the entire length of the journey and many are crushed to death on route. To add insult to injury, the consumers are misled, with the final products labelled as ‘Island Produced Pork' after they are slaughtered on arrival.

We the consumer would also be forgiven for thinking that armed with the amount of knowledge we now have on this issue, tighter regulations may be the answer to the problem, however the sad reality is that they are not. Legislation is very tough and difficult to enforce, and as a consequence is very often ignored. This is represented by the sad fact that 10,000 horses continue to be illegally transported each year from Spain to Italy on journeys of 36 hours, despite EU regulations stating that they should be rested after 24 hours. 

In other exporting countries such as Brazil, there is a growing awareness that an end to live shipments would bring economic benefits through the creation of more jobs in the agriculture industry - the same as for other exporting countries. And even the meat industry recognises that a chilled or frozen meat only trade is the future, and as such for example in Australia 96 % of the livestock sector has already moved away from exporting live animals. However the time has come to put an end to the journeys of the remaining 4% of animals, which still equate to staggering numbers.

It is because this trade is cruel and completely unnecessary that several leading international animal welfare groups including the World Society for the Protection of Animals, Compassion in World Farming, the RSPCA, RSPCA Australia, International League for the Protection of Horses, Humane Society International, Born Free USA, Eurogroup for Animals, Dierenbescherming (Dutch SPCA) and Dyrenes Beskyttelse (Danish SPCA) have joined forces to form the Handle with Care coalition which is calling on governments to stop the long distance transport of live animals for slaughter, and move to a chilled and frozen meat only trade.

Over the past two years the Handle with Care coalition has gathered undercover footage of long distance transport of live animals. Islamic scholars who have seen the footage are appalled by the way these animals are treated during and sometimes after transport completely contravene the requirements of Halal. They also point out that as 80% of Australian slaughterhouses are now Halal registered, it is a contradiction that these transports are still going on and agree that they should be more rapidly phased out.

Please help us to accelerate an already existing trend away from the long distance transport of live animals- it is cruel and must stop before many more animals suffer unnecessarily. If you want to know more and to sign the petition please go to: www.handlewithcare.tv

Facts:

Europe's horse trade

Historically, Eastern Europe, particularly Poland, with good pasturing for horses but no demand for horse meat, has supplied Italy where a strong demand for horse meat has provided an attractive market. However, whilst these live imports from Eastern Europe have declined, welfare concerns have been growing over increasing imports of live horses from Spain to Italy. In 2005, this new trade route had grown to 10,136 horses per annum.
The incentive for the live horse trade would appear to be primarily related to the fact that if the meat is slaughtered in Italy it can be misleadingly marketed as being meat of Italian origin. Changes in legislation are needed to prevent consumers being misled by such labeling regarding the country of origin.
Horses are trucked through Spain, into France, and down into Italy for 36-46 hours without proper rest, food or water, in temperatures often exceeding 40 degrees centigrade.
Police checks have regularly revealed the suffering and cruelty involved as EU laws requiring horses to travel in individual stalls, with adequate rest, food and water, are routinely ignored.

Spotlight on Europe

The most notorious transports in Europe include horses being taken from Central and Eastern European countries and Spain to Italy; sheep travelling from Spain, Italy, Bulgaria and Romania to Greece; and pigs travelling from the Netherlands to slaughterhouses in southern Italy.
Europe's largest long distance trade is the export each year of around 2 million pigs from the Netherlands to Spain and Italy.  Around 1.6 million of these are young pigs being sent for further fattening, while about 350,000 are older pigs being exported for slaughter.  It can also be the case that a slaughter weight pig travelling from Germany to Netherlands may originally have been exported as a piglet from Netherlands to Germany.

Legislation

Since mid 90's there is European legislation (applicable in the UK) that protects animals during transport: Directive (91/628/EEC) was adopted in 1991 and amended in 1995 by Council Directive 95/29/EC.  This Directive sets down rules in terms of standards of vehicles, journey length, rest, food and water periods for all main species transported. Horses are permitted a maximum of 24 hours' journey during which time water must be provided every 8 hours, followed by 24 hours' rest off the vehicle, before the journey could continue.
Additionally, since January 2007 horses are required to travel in single stalls on journeys beyond 8 hours. However, enforcement is not always carried out properly by the authorities.

All photographs used with kind permission from WSPA