Investigations by country:

29. December 2016

Argentina | Río Cuarto | Slaughterhouse General Pico | Horsemeat import

[Translate to English:] Das Gelände ist von einem Zaun mit Sichtschutz umgeben.

We arrive at the slaughterhouse General Pico at noon. The temperature is 30°C. No horses can be seen from outside, as there is a tall fence with visual cover all along the road blocking the view. We climb a nearby tree in order to get a view onto the premises. We immediately realize that there is insufficient weather protection for the horses. Only…

24. December 2016

Argentina | Mercedes | Slaughterhouse Lamar | Horsemeat import

[Translate to English:] Eine dünne tragende Stute mit gefülltem Euter wird vom Futterplatz vertrieben.

We return to the Lamar slaughterhouse at 14:00. It is again a hot and sunny day with a temperature of 29°C and the large majority of the horses are standing under the blazing sun. The pen area which is partly covered by a fabric roof is full to the bursting point, with only a few horses finding space in the shade.

Today there are about 100 horses…

23. December 2016

Argentina | Mercedes | Slaughterhouse Lamar | Horsemeat import

[Translate to English:] Ein Pferd wird vom Futterplatz vertrieben.

When we return to the Lamar slaughterhouse at 12:00, the temperature has climbed up to 30°C. Today is the first time that a sufficient amount of feed is available. There are two straw bales in each of the large paddocks. However, weak and submissive horses are chased away by dominant ones and remain hungry. The straw should have been distributed in…

22. December 2016

Argentina | Mercedes | Slaughterhouse Lamar | Horsemeat import

[Translate to English:] Der starke Wasserstrahl wird direkt auf das Gesicht der Pferde gerichtet.

When we arrive at the Lamar slaughterhouse at 17:00, an employee is busy hosing down horses with water in the lairage area. It is a different employee than the one we observed last time and he sprays the horses even more on the head and in the face than the other employee. The horses are very nervous, some look frightened. There is a lot of…

21. December 2016

Argentina | Gualeguay | Slaughterhouse Entre Rios | Horsemeat import

[Translate to English:] Pferde werden beim Schlachthof angeliefert – in einem typischen Transporter ohne Dach.

When we arrive at the slaughterhouse Entre Rios at 7:50, the holding pens in the lairage area and the large paddocks in the back of the plant are empty. During our visit last year, we saw some dilapidated shelters with partially ripped fabric-roofs in the paddocks. These run-down shelters are all gone and the large paddocks offer no more weather…

20. December 2016

Argentina | Mercedes | Slaughterhouse Lamar | Horsemeat import

[Translate to English:] Das neugeborene Fohlen hat weder Stroh noch Schatten zur Verfügung.

When we arrive at the Lamar slaughterhouse at 9:30, we immediately realize that most horses have been slaughtered during the night or in the early morning. Slaughtering is still going on. Employees are observed moving horses from the pens in the lairage area to the entrance of the stunning chute. They hit the horses on their head in order to force…

19. December 2016

Argentina | Mercedes | Slaughterhouse Lamar | Horsemeat import

[Translate to English:] Ein abgemagertes, geschwächtes Pferd liegt auf dem staubigen Boden.

We arrive at the slaughterhouse Lamar in the early afternoon. It is a very hot day with temperatures climbing up to 30°C. We are surprised to see that the large paddocks behind the buildings, which were empty and completely overgrown with plants on our last visit in April 2015, are now full of horses. There are approximately 300 horses. Like in the…

19. December 2016

Poland | Eugeniów | Visit at the farm in Eugeniów

In September we received anonymous information about neglected animals at one farm in Eugeniów. Our team went to check it. There were about 20 horses, different age, in average condition. We’ve seen more shortcomings: three emaciated mares, stallion tied among mares, poor bedding, projecting metal part of the boxes, dog houses in average condition…

17. December 2016

Poland | Bodzentyn | Cattle market in Bodzentyn

[Translate to English:] Kühe mit überwachsenen Hufen.

Today at the cattle market in Bodzentyn are a lot of trucks but fewer animals than we expected. Our team counts about 600-650 animals, but we expected more because it’s the last market before Christmas. We observe only a few cows with overgrown hooves and a few emaciated animals. The others look being in surprisingly good condition. One of the…