During ten days of investigation in Iceland, we find 40 blood farms out of around 100 farms where blood is taken from pregnant mares for the production of the fertility hormone PMSG. We detect numerous risks of injury to the mares at these facilities. Most raceways and restraint boxes have dangerous gaps where the mares can injure their legs, and…

The Italian trader is back on the horse market. This time he only buys older horses. The younger animals go back home. At Bodzentyn cattle market we also re-encounter a trader that left almost a year ago. The subsidy time ends and beside the big traders there are no people willing to buy cattle.

We observe that one trader ties the cows by their…

This time, our Farm Animal Service (FAS) team is helping lame foal in Niedospielin. During trimming we find an injury in the hoof. The wound is cleaned and protected with a special dressing. Next, we are going to the farm in Brody where the problem of hoof canker appears again. It is a very difficult disease to treat. However, we do not give up. We…

While our team is in Argentina investigating about the illegal trade of stolen horses, we learn about another case. More than 400 malnourished horses have been discovered on a field in Ezeiza near Buenos Aires. 25 of them are dead, four are dying. These horses belong to a dealer named Raúl Onorato, the father-in-law of Hernan Arbeo who recently…

We visit the acopio (assembly centre) of horse dealer Angel Langhoff for the first time. There are approx. 100 horses present, including a few ponies and foals. Most of them are kept in small holding pens with dirt floors. They have no weather protection. The condition of the horses varies greatly. While some are malnourished, others are rather…

This year we continue to meet children during summer camps to teach them about animal welfare. Like in previous times, our training includes a theoretical part in the form of a presentation, and a practical part based on the everyday work of our farriers.

During the theoretical training, the young animal enthusiasts learn about the concept of five…

It is the end of July when our teams are investigating together with our partner organisation Israel Against Live Shipments (IALS). We want to document live transports on their journey from Lithuania to Israel. On the 24th of July, we spot two transports with calves which are operated by the transport company Konrad. We inform the police and let…

On 6th August, we are informed that a truck with horses has been confiscated by the police on the way to the EU-approved slaughterhouse Infriba in Mar del Plata. The horses had been discovered on a slaughter truck owned by the Onorato family. An AWF|TSB team travels to Argentina to investigate and document this case. Out of the 32 horses on board…

The German Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, Julia Klöckner, asked the Bavarian State Minister for Enviromental and Consumer Protection Affairs, Thorsten Glauber, in a letter to stop long-distance transports of unweaned calves from Bavaria to Spain. 

Julia Klöckner strongly emphasises in her letter that there are no…