Another long day on the road with the Road Transport Inspector (ITD) and Veterinary Inspectors. The first livestock truck we stop is empty, so we have a look inside a very well equipped swan-neck trailer – a great educating opportunity.
Next, a short distance transporter is stopped. On board is a consignment of pigs whose condition makes us worried: they are dirty and stressed, we hear sneezing and see strange growths on some of the pigs. Not surprisingly, Article 4 of the transport documentation is incomplete. The driver is warned, and the Veterinary Inspector writes an inspection report that will be sent to the Veterinary Inspection supervising the place of departure.
The third truck of the day is from the same meat processing plant that was inspected earlier during the week. Again, we note bad partitions, adult cattle loaded on 2 decks and obviously exceeding 4m of height, without sufficient headspace for the animals. Administrative proceedings are initiated against the transporter.
We end the day with a 4th and final truck, a long-distance transport of piglets from Denmark to Poland. Unfortunately, this transport also has shortcomings: no access to the animals (the side doors are tiny), temperature printout impossible for the whole journey, journey log entries are inconsistent and missing, but most importantly, the water was turned off. The driver turns the water on, as ordered by ITD inspector. 40 minutes later, by the end of the inspection, thirsty piglets are still fighting for access to the water nipples. Administrative proceedings are initiated and Section 5 of the Journey Log is filled in with the list of all violations.
