Animals suffering at the port of Cartagena

Last week, our team uncovered another case of animal cruelty at the port of Cartagena. 120 young calves, which had come to Spain from countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic, Ireland and Slovakia as remnants of the dairy industry, were left standing for hours in the scorching sun at the port of Cartagena. The animals, which were brought to Cartagena from a fattening farm in the Huesca region of northern Spain, had already been travelling on the road for hours. In Cartagena, they were to be loaded onto the cargo ship Nadera-A, bound for Libya.

However, the exporters and the truck drivers had not coordinated properly. As a result, the ship was not ready when the calves arrived in Cartagena. The drivers parked the transporter in a public space close to the port and went for a coffee in a nearby bar. It can get very hot in the Cartagena region at this time of year. We watched as the animals had to wait in the trailer for around ten hours in the heat. It was only in the evening that they were loaded onto the ship - along with around 400 other calves and around 5,000 lambs.

A systematic problem

The freighter Nadera-A has already negatively attracted our attention in the past: It has been detained several times in recent years because the authorities had discovered deficiencies, particularly in maritime safety.

The case we observed and documented last week is unfortunately not an isolated incident. We have been travelling to the port in Cartagena since 2018 and have often seen livestock trucks parked outside the port in Cartagena for hours in the scorching sun. This is very dangerous for animals, especially in summer. The lorries are not well ventilated and when they are parked, there is no airstream.

Cartagena as a hub for animal exports

The port of Cartagena is one of the busiest ports in Europe. Animals from almost all EU countries are exported from there to third countries such as Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The harbour also repeatedly attracts attention for other animal welfare violations. For example, we have observed animals falling into the sea during loading, heavily pregnant animals giving birth due to stress on arrival at the port, and animals that were seriously injured during transport being loaded onto the ship without medical care. Unfortunately, cruelty to animals during unloading and loading is also not uncommon. The lorry drivers and dock workers are under great pressure to get the animals onto the ship in the shortest possible time. Many do not shy away from beating or kicking the animals, maltreating them with electric cattle prods or forcing them on board the ship in other ways.

For more than ten years, our team has been documenting the terrible consequences for animals that are transported by lorry and ship over long distances to third countries. The problems are systematic and often have fatal consequences for the animals.

Lack of protective measures and political responsibility

There are no contingency plans in place to protect animals from extreme temperatures, either during road transport within Spain, in Spanish ports, by sea or at their destination.

This year we are in a crucial phase for animal welfare. The European Commission is working on a new regulation for animal transport at European level.

We are very concerned about the outcome of this regulation because the industry is putting a lot of pressure on the Commission. Among other things, according to the proposal, transport times by sea would no longer be limited. In legal terms, this would mean that transport by ship would no longer count as transport time and animals could therefore be transported by sea without any time limit - days, weeks, even months!

Demand: End long-distance transport

We demand that Spain, as the leading country in fattening, together with the other EU Member States, develop a strategy with effective incentives to stop long-distance transport of live animals and replace it with meat products. The export of live animals and their cruel slaughter in third countries is not compatible with the current values of the European Union!

Spanish radio and television report on the case 

In Spain, the case has attracted the attention of the media. Our team colleague Maria Boada reported on animal cruelty at the port of Cartagena on Spanish state television and also gave an interview on the radio. 

Find the TV report (in Spanish) here. 

Listen to the radio report (in Spanish).

Here you can find a press article (in Spanish) about the case.