Today, our team is investigating the assembly centre of kill buyer Les Evans. He is one of the major suppliers of horses to the Meramist abattoir. From the road, we see about 20 horses with slaughter tags in a green paddock in front of the farmhouse. However, the main part of the assembly centre for “slaughter” horses is about 800 meters south of…

Our team is investigating the cattle market in Bodzentyn. We estimate that there are about 200 animals at the market. They are mainly young animals. Whilst we are taking a photo of a young calf to document the situation on the market, one of the traders starts to verbally attack our team. A few seconds later, we are surrounded by yelling traders.…

This month our Farm Animal Service (FAS) team starts their work on a farm in Siekierno. We are visiting this place for the first time. This small farm belongs to young farmer. He keeps two young horses and three cows. The animals are kept boxes and outside on paddocks. The owner agrees with the rules and guidelines of our ATET programme and signs…

The horse auction in Echuca is where kill buyers purchase their horses. Kill buyer Peter Loffel, whose assembly centres we have been observing in the previous days, also buys horses at this auction. Equipped with hidden cameras, we are going to the auction as a team of three. The auctioneer moves from pen to pen above the horses. His roaring voice…

Our team is investigating two assembly centres in Mooroopna, Victoria. They belong to kill buyer Peter Loffel. The first one is located next to a main road and is visible to the public, while the second assembly centre is well hidden in the forest. Peter Loffel has been supplying Meramist abattoir for many years. The abattoir is over 1,500 km away…

We meet up with informant Kim. She wants to remain anonymous. Her name has been changed. Kim has been investigating the fate of retired racing horses for a long time.

We talk to Kim about traceability and food safety issues. She explains that the owner has to fill out a horse vendor declaration stating any medical treatments the horse has…

Our team receives anonymous information about a lady from Wachock who is collecting and breeding small animals. Our team drives to Wachock to check on the condition of the animals. When we arrive, we are welcomed by a woman with a mild mental disability. She lives in a very small apartment together with her father. She keeps two dogs, a cat and…

We observe the Lamar slaughterhouse on two consecutive days. It is very hot, 34°C. The outdoor pens are crowded. The horses have no protection from the sun and heat, which contravenes applicable EU regulations.

Three months earlier, in November 2019, this place was inspected by auditors from the University of Louvain in Belgium on behalf of…

There are hundreds of horse assembly centres in Argentina, so-called acopios. Most are unknown to the European auditors. The Argentinian authorities select assembly centres for audits. Usually, they pick model farms. So, we decide to visit assembly centres that are hidden from inspection.

We pay a visit to the acopio outside the town of Venado…