Eyes on Animals inspectors observe pigs being transported and even exported in 38-40 Celcius temperatures
As the temperature today was to reach 35-40 degrees Celcius, Eyes on Animals inspectors drove around Brabant all day to see if animals were still being transported in such extreme hot temperatures, and worse, if they were being approved by the VWA (Dutch authorities) for long-distance journeys to foreign countries. We were extremely disappointed to learn that two trucks loaded with pigs had left a collecting station at 9:30 in the morning, heading for countries in the east. This meant that the pigs would spend the whole day on board a truck in this heat...and risk being stuck in traffic jams. Dutch sows destined for Germany and Poland were trucked as well to be approved for export and were to be sent off again at 17:30, when the outdoor temperature was still 38 degrees.
The EU 1/2005 legislation to protect animals during transport says that animals must be protected from extreme weather during all journeys and that, during long distance journeys, the temperature inside the truck must stay between 5 and 30 degrees Celcius (with a +/-5 degree Celcius tolerance). Despite the fact that trucks used for long-distance journeys have fans on the side, they are not able to reduce the temperature inside the truck to within the legal norms if the outdoor temperature is so high.
Eyes on Animals demands that the VWA enforce the law properly; the export of animals on such hot days must not be approved, and national trucks heading to Dutch slaughterhouses only be on the road during the night. Eyes on Animals also insists that pig transport companies act responsibily and stop attempting to transport animals when the risks are so high.
Pigs in particular have a very difficult time during this heat; they cannot easily regulate their body temperature, as they do not have sweat glands in the skin. They can only cool themselves down by panting and lying in water or mud. Sows especially have a difficult time, as they are heavy and after a life of limited excercise, are not used to walking onto a truck or withstanding additional stress. It is of no surprise that we heard that sows had arrived dead at a German slaughterhouse during a hot day 2 weeks earlier.