During the week from July 6th to 12th, Eyes on Animals, in conjuction with two other animal welfare partners (CIWF and AWF) carried out an intensive investigation of livestock trucks transporting cattle and sheep from all over Europe across the border into Turkey. This inspection and its´ findings received extensive media attention.
Day 5 – 10th July: During the night, from Saturday through Sunday, we followed the animal transport truck of Keus & Mollink. When their truck stopped on the road, we could occasionally view the situation in the truck. There was a second bull in bad condition. The next day it was revealed that he had broken his foreleg. During the night the cattle had no water. When the driver was questioned, he said that there was no water available. This particular trip was made via Istanbul to Ankara, the final destination of this transport.
The bulls were unloaded at a collection point for cattle. The bull which was in a bad way was ultimately pulled out by his ears. He stood briefly then fell again. We gave him water to drink and poured water over him to cool him down. The bulls were given food and water. For how long they remained at this point before they were transported further to the slaughterhouse, we do not know. In total, the cattle were transported on a terrible journey which lasted four miserable and hot days.
On this same day, our teams drove back to the border, a journey of 760 kilometers.
