This fall 2 trucks carrying heavily pregnant heifers from Germany took off for Turkey. When they arrived at the Turkish border many days later, the animals and truck drivers had to wait in the trucks for over a month (!) for the Bulgarian/EU and Turkish authorities to solve a problem.
The Turkish authorities said the animals could not enter Turkey because the animals came from a zone of Germany where there was an outbreak of the bluetongue virus. The German authorities said the animals had all tested negative. The EU knew from so many previous cases that the fate for these animals was in jeopardy, and yet the animals remained…waiting and waiting, while the manure piled up, the ammonia became unbearable, the bedding and feed dried up, access to water was limited.
Many gave birth and the suffering was shocking. Finally, after 34 days the pregnant heifers were escorted by Turkish authorities to a slaughterhouse nearby where the surviving were unloaded. The downer cows on the trucks were electric prodded repeatedly. When they still could not get up, they were dragged out by chains, even from the side of the truck resulting in one cow slamming her head against the pavement when falling down 1.5 metres. The next day they were all hoisted and butchered while still fully conscious, including the 2 downers. Inside the truck there were several cattle no longer moving, thought to be dead. The Turkish authorities instructed the drivers to unload them on a garbage dump outside. But one showed signs of life upon arrival.
Thank god Eyes on Animals keeps a captive bolt stunner with a veterinarian friend living there. Iris from Animal Welfare Foundation and Irene from Animals’ Angels, who were at the border working hard at forcing the bureaucrats to put an end to this horror, gave our stunner to one of the drivers who was at least able to put her out of her misery, finally. If not she would have been left alive on the garbage pile.
This is the HUGE problem with export to third countries. They largely do not have stunners or accept their use. Watch the whole documentary by Manfred & Anna Karreman below or on the website of the ZDF: Tiertransporte: Gefangen zwischen Grenzen.
