At midday, the calves from Poland and Lithuania are re-loaded at the control post in France. Instead of the mandatory 24 hours, the calves have only been rested for 18 hours. Our team observes that a calf falls down on the loading ramp, remains on the ground and is pulled back into the stable at its tail. Instead of being treated by a veterinarian,…

Our team drives to a control post in France, where unweaned calves are rested and fed on the way from Poland to Spain. In the late afternoon two transporters arrive at the stable, loaded with calves from Poland and Lithuania which are only two to three weeks old. Some still have the umbilical cord. The calves are mooing loudly and licking the metal…

Today the EonA/AWF team and Dr. Ellen Eser from BSI Schwarzenbek visit Edemen slaughterhouse in Bursa. The owner bought this slaughterhouse seven months ago. We spotted mainly the same problems as in most other Turkish slaughterhouses (no anti-mounting racks, bulls mounting each-other and falling down, slippery floors, open sides of raceway risking…

At a gas station near Warcaw our team waits for transports with calves from the Baltic States. These calves are sent on the longest journeys in Europe, even though it is not possible to supply them on the vehicle according to the requirements of the EU regulation for the protection of animals during transport.
At 3:30 am the team sees a transporter…

A camera installed inside the lairage area of Syntex has recorded five hours of the blood drawing process, from 8:00 to 13:00. The video footage shows that the blood is taken from the mares during 10 minutes. Approx. 8 to 10 litres of blood can be taken in 10 minutes. When the extraction is finished, the workers pull out the drain tube forcefully…

Today the EonA/AWF team and Dr. Ellen Eser from BSI Schwarzenbek did a follow-up inspection of Kurucay slaughterhouse. The team had inspected this plant for the first time in October 2014 and had many concerns about the installations and design of the equipment used. We had sent them our report and training material, indicating what steps they…

When we arrive at the Syntex farm at 21:30, it is already pitch-black. There are a lot of lights on, but all is quiet. The lairage area, where the blood is taken from the mares, is empty. There are approx. 14 individual stalls made of wood and alleys leading up to them. In the covered passageway between the stalls and the office/laboratory…

On Monday the 13th and Tuesday the 14th of April, Eyes on Animals and Animal Welfare Foundation organized, together with Redrock and Austrade (Australian Trade Commission) the second animal welfare seminar for slaughter animals in Turkey. The conference and training on "Improving Animal Welfare and Meat Quality in Turkey" was held at Ankara…

We drive to the new blood farm of Fernando Perdigón in the Department Maldonado. On the way there, we find groups of mares in forest clearings. They are dull, abused, their bodies covered in scars from the beatings. Some have identification tags around their necks. Their tails are not trimmed, indicating they are not yet in the production. Others…