Bulgaria | Kapitan Andreevo | BG-TR border investigation
Again, in the morning the team on the Bulgarian side of the border have their hands full. We see a very overcrowded sheep transport and a distressed heifer rolling her tongue – a possible sign of thirst and heat stress. We start filming and document this reflex repeated continuously for over two minutes! One mystery truck passes by us quickly, but we are able to identify the transporter based on our notes from previous days. Noon is quieter and we pay a visit at Svilengrad control post, where animals are unloaded and rested for 24 hours. After the very busy weekend it is emptier here. We only see seven trucks parked on the premises and a lot of pens are empty. After the visit, we return to the border. The temperature after sunset is tolerable, a bit under 30˚C, but unfortunately the line-up to cross the border builds up quickly. The three last trucks that we inspect today need about half an hour to reach the Bulgarian border, and we know they will enter Turkey tomorrow morning the earliest. Later we learn that one of these trucks has been blocked for 23 hours within the border!