Investigations by date:

23. June 2016

Turkey | Border Kapikule | Animal transports | Day 1

[Translate to English:] Durstige Bullen lecken an Wänden und Gitterstangen.

Today a team of inspectors from TSB|AWF and our partner organisation, Eyes on Animals, from Holland arrives in Istanbul and drives to Kapikule at the Bulgarian/Turkish border. During one week we are going to inspect animal transporters bringing in animals from the EU to Turkey. While driving north on the highway, we observe 22 animal trucks passing…

23. June 2016

USA | Middleburg - Pennsylvania | Horse auction | Horsemeat import

[Translate to English:] Wie Sardinen zusammengepackte Pferde, ohne Wasser, ohne Futter.

The Middleburg horse auction is frequented by a lot of members of the Mennonite and Amish communities who dump their worn-out work or buggy horses at the sale. Today, as usual, the slaughter horse pens are severely overcrowded, with horses packed in like sardines. There are five to seven horses tied next to each other, unable to move. The pens have…

22. June 2016

Poland | Bodzentyn | cattle market

[Translate to English:]

Our team finds at 7:30 a young cow lying at the market Bodzentyn. The traders move her to another place, she walks normal, but immediately lies down again. She appears to be weak and refuses to drink or to eat. We call the market vet, who immediately gives first – aid treatment to her. She remains lying and the vet gets prepared for euthanasia, the…

22. June 2016

Meeting with EU Commission about blood farming

[Translate to English:] Sitzung zum Thema Blutfarmen in Südamerika, Import von PMSG und Blutserum

 

 

Today we meet in Brussels with Vytenis Andriukaitis, the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. Members of his Cabinet and representatives of DG SANTE (Directorate General for Health and Food Safety) and DG TRADE also attend the meeting. We present the findings of our investigations about the production of blood serum in Uruguay and…

21. June 2016

Belgium | Brussels | Animal Transport - EU project on Transport Guidelines for the transport of cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry and horses

[Translate to English:]

We participate in the transport guide project that aims to develop and communicate Good and Best practises for the transport of farm animals. These practises will be presented in Guides which aim to promote animal welfare during transport.

The first draft of the Guidelines have been prepared by a consortium of different stakeholders and research…

08. June 2016

Europe plans to export more than 5'000 pregnant cattle to Turkey during extreme heat again!

[Translate to English:] Hochschwangeres Rind aus Deutschland. Gestorben auf einem Transport in die Türkei im Juli 2015. 70 % aller Transporte in die Türkei verstossen gegen die Tiertransportverordnung der EU.

Since 2010 we have been documenting the extreme suffering and death of farm animals being exported by truck from all over Europe to Turkey. This route is a long and complicated one regardless of what time of the year it takes place. But the summertime is the worst, because the temperatures at the EU/Turkey border reach 40 degrees and there is no…

06. June 2016

Meeting with EU Commission about export of live animals to Turkey

[Translate to English:]

TSB|AWF and our pratner organization Eyes on Animals, together with three Italian animal-rights lawyers working on the case for us, had our meeting last Friday with Mr. van Goethem and his team from the European Commissions Crisis management in food, animals and plants about the on-going suffering and death of animals being exported from the EU to…

27. May 2016

USA | Shipshewana - Indiana | Horse auction | Horsemeat import

[Translate to English:] Die Kutschpferde stehen in der prallen Sonne.

Our team arrives at the weekly horse auction in Shipshewana at 10:30. We have monitored this sale since 2009 and have reported the auction for its abusive handling of animals on many occasions. This visit is to determine if there has been any improvement in the auction’s treatment of the animals in their care.

Today it is a hot, sunny day. There…

26. May 2016

USA | Allen - Michigan | Collecting station of Randy Beasley | Horsemeat import

[Translate to English:] Pferde in einem matschigen Pferch, umgeben von saftigen Weiden.

Randy Beasley actively buys and sells horses for the horse slaughter industry. He frequents several auctions in surrounding states, among them the Shipshewana horse auction in Indiana.

When we arrive at Beasley’s horse collecting station in Allen, Michigan, we see several holding pens behind the barn as well as extensive pastures. Despite the…