Today we are again with the Latvian cattle, blocked since 6 days inside the border on board the ANIMEX truck, and on the road since November 20th. Our team on the ground and our team in their home offices are doing all they can to pressure authorities and the involved industry players to unload these animals and get them care. The EU Commission says it is not in their mandate to tell Member States what to do during individual incidences such as this one. And the Bulgarian and Turkish authorities are not prepared to accept these animals and take responsibility for them either. Thus the bulls remain parked in so-called „No Man’s Land“. The main culprit is the trader and organizer of this transport, who sent these poor animals on a trip doomed to fail. These bulls were loaded already 10 days ago, and remain in very cramped conditions on board, with limited access to water and feed.
After Bulgarian media reacted to our appeals yesterday and broadcasted a TV newspiece about this, today a camera team from the Turkish media respond to our press release. Our team is interviewed and explains how this drama happened and that we are calling for a humane solution to this problem as soon as possible, if not the animals will be left to slowly die on the truck.
No one, not even the drivers or Bulgarian veterinarians, feel responsible for taking proper care of the animals. As a result, it is up to our team to again organize the delivery of hay and water and motivate the drivers to get up and start feeding and watering these hungry and thirsty bulls.
Again, animals fall victim to human greed and bureaucracy. This incident shows clearly that animal welfare can never be adequately protected when animals go on long distance journeys over important border, as there are too many cheaters and too great a risk that problems like this occur. It is not the first time animals have been blocked for days at this border due to missing and incorrect documents!
