Brussels, 11/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - Three European animal protection organisations called on Wednesday 11 January for the export of live animals (sheep and cattle) to Turkey to be suspended because of the treatment inflicted on the animals. The three organisations - Compassion in World Farming, Eyes on Animals and the Animal Welfare Foundation - also called on the European Commission to begin proceedings against Bulgaria and Hungary, countries which, the organisations claim, systematically breach European legislation on the protection of animals during transport.
In 2011, the three carried out investigations at the border between the EU and Turkey. These investigations revealed regular breaches of Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport, particularly involving the export of animals from Bulgaria and Hungary to Turkey. Of 158 livestock vehicles monitored at the border, 67% were in breach of one or more of the requirements of the regulation: overcrowding - failure to respect stocking densities; insufficient headroom - the heads and backs of some animals were touching the ceiling above them; inadequate ventilation - in summer, temperatures as high as 58° Celsius were recorded inside lorries; insufficient water - often the water devices were not working or were switched off, or the water tanks were empty, or, indeed, there was such overcrowding that animals could not reach the water devices; inadequate lorries - this meant animals' legs were trapped between the sides and floors of vehicles.
These problems are further exacerbated by the long waits at the border that result from incorrect paperwork or consignments which do not meet Turkey's strict import requirements. For example, Turkey will only import male sheep for slaughter. During the lengthy delays, the animals are left on the lorries, often without adequate ventilation, food or water. Many animals die.
Illegal slaughter practices in Turkey.
A film made by the three organisations reveals the suffering of animals during transport and also during slaughter. Sheep are shackled by a rear leg and are hoisted, upside down, to the killing line. The throats of the animals are cut without their first being stunned. Suspending conscious animals upside down by their legs is a breach of the international standards of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), of which Turkey is a member.
The organisations call on the Commission to suspend the export of live animals to Turkey, to refer Bulgaria and Hungary to the courts and to work with Turkey and the countries involved in these exports to find ways to reduce delays at the border.
Iris Baumgärtner, a project leader with the Animal Welfare Foundation, who has conducted investigations on the ground, described the terrible conditions in which the animals are transported (lorries held up for several days at the border because of checks to be carried out, animals so thirsty they drink the urine of the animals around them from the lorry floor, animals found dead on lorries, and more). She was scathing, too, that, despite pledges from the authorities, no improvement in the situation at the border had been noted during follow-up investigations.
Lesley Moffat, of Eyes on Animals, was critical of police and vets who “close their eyes” to these problems. “We hope this trade will stop because, as it is at the moment, it is too unsafe for the animals. There is too much suffering”, she said, urging better enforcement of the rules both in Turkey and in the EU. She said that Bulgaria is continuing to authorise lorries which do not comply with minimum standards. She said that one of the problems is that there is no provision for unloading animals held up at the border.
Andrea Gavinelli from the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General of the European Commission highlighted that the Commission had few means at its disposal to require EU countries to comply with the legislation (compliance monitoring teams, and infringement procedures). He pointed out, too, that there is no agreement between the EU and Turkey on the trade in live animals, only bilateral agreements between member states and Turkey. The “drastic measures” called for the NGOs, such as suspension of exports, can only be taken by EU countries, not by the Commission. This issue has already been discussed by the Standing Committee on Animal Health and a meeting of the operators and countries concerned is due to take place around the month of March this year, Gavinelli said.
Sharp rise in exports.
According to Eurostat figures, in the first 10 months of 2011, the EU exported 818,283 sheep and 143,521 cattle to Turkey, a total of 961,804 animals. This is almost four times as many in the whole of 2010. Between November 2010 and October 2011, more than a million cattle and sheep were exported from the EU to Turkey. The sheep are exported for slaughter. Some cattle are exported for fattening or breeding, others for slaughter. Even tiny unweaned calves are being exported to Turkey. The animals come from Hungary, Bulgaria, Austria, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The lorries carrying the livestock come from these countries and also the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Romania and Croatia. The distance from the Baltic states to the EU border between Bulgaria and Turkey is over 2,000 kilometres. Further journeys from the border to final destinations in Turkey (which include Istanbul, Bursa, Izmir, Ankara, Erzurum and Gaziantep) range from 250 to 1,800 kilometres in length. (LC/transl.rt)