15. August 2024

Year-long investigation in Lebanon: Overseas Transport, Animal Slaughter, and Environmental Pollution

[Translate to English:] Photo 6 Port Beirut, Spanish animals.

[Translate to English:] Photo 5 Nabatieh Slaughterhouse Slaughtering of CZ bovine.

[Translate to English:] Photo 1 Joub Jennine waste dump. Remains of a German bovine.

[Translate to English:] Photo 3 Saida waste dump. Animal remains from the slaughterhouse.

[Translate to English:] Photo 2Bar Elias waste dump. Children and sheep.

[Translate to English:] Photo 4 Spanish bulls from Vessel Karim Allah.

August 2022 to June 2023 | Lebanon | 

During this year long investigation with the help of one of the top Lebanese investigative journalists David Enders, we look into the export of life animals to Lebanon, the farming practices, the difficulties that farmers have to face with providing enough energy sufficient feed for highly producing European animals, the slaughtering of EU animals and the damaging impact of the ‘slaughter waste’ to the environment. During the investigation we visit 3 major dump fields discovering the remains of animals decaying on open fields next to the densely populated and farm area.

After interviewing the representative of the Environmental industry, we learn that the biggest polluter is the slaughter waste, since in Lebanon there are almost none cleaning facilities for the slaughter waste.

We waisted 18 big and small farmers that keep animals imported from EU. Most of the farmers have difficulties to sufficiently feed their highly producing EU animals. They told us they need to partly starve the animals even if they produce less mils as the kg of the imported feed is much more expensive than the milk the animals produce.

We visited six slaughterhouses, where the animals are all slaughtered without stunning. In one occasion we observed a bull dying for more than 8 minutes until he bled to death.

We observed the unloading of 5 vessels transporting animals.

During this year we learned that the export of animals to the countries with little or no legislation on animal protection and environment preservation is cruel for the animals and damaging to the environment and people living in it.