Argentina | Mercedes, province of Buenos Aires | Slaughterhouse Lamar
A new tarpaulin has recently been erected for visual protection.
Hungry horses are searching for food in the dust.
A horse with a severe open wound receives no medical care.
We observe the Lamar slaughterhouse on two consecutive days. It is very hot, 34°C. The outdoor pens are crowded. The horses have no protection from the sun and heat, which contravenes applicable EU regulations.
Three months earlier, in November 2019, this place was inspected by auditors from the University of Louvain in Belgium on behalf of European importers and their marketing platform "Respectful Life". We sent a team to Lamar the same month. Not a single horse was to be seen outside. The horses were being kept under a protective roof and the outdoor pens were overgrown with weeds and deserted. Now, they are full again. We see malnourished, lame, injured and weak horses. There are pregnant mares that should not have been sent here as their pregnancies are too advanced. The fodder is lying in the dust and grime. The following day, it is all gone. We find horses without ear tags in the slaughterhouse, which is illegal.
Since our last visit in November, canvas sheeting has been erected at the entrance to the slaughter room to obstruct our view and hide the animal abuse. Behind it, the horses continue to be abused as before. They are sprayed with water, beaten and shouted at; the horses are terrified.
We will inform the EU Commission about the non-compliance with applicable EU requirements and urge them to suspend the import.
