Wednesday 14th May 2003
RSPCA condemns "vast scale" of cruelty | |
|  | | There's concern that some sheep are suffering from cruelty as a result of transportation |
| | The RSPCA has highlighted the cruelty suffered by farm animals which are transported long distances before being slaughtered.
The charity is calling on action to stop the cruelty. |
|  | | Animal welfare campaigners have claimed farm animals are being subjected to cruelty "on a vast scale" by being needlessly traded over thousands of miles for profit.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) said European transport rules were frequently flouted.
The RSPCA produced a video showing a calf being pushed into a closed storage compartment underneath a lorry, exhausted sheep found dead and dying after a nine-day journey, and a sheep too sick to travel dumped on a ferry deck.
Undercover teams trailed consignments of sheep, horses, pigs and cattle across Europe, the RSPCA said.
It alleged that on one journey sheep were not fed for six days, several ewes gave birth en route, and outside temperatures reached 40 degrees centigrade.
A new RSPCA report detailing the cruelty and called Standing Room Only, has been presented to farm animal welfare minister Elliot Morley MP.
It claimed that not only do animals currently suffer on a vast scale, but that consumers finish up with a poorer food product.
Dr Julia Wrathall, deputy head of the RSPCA's farm animals section, said: "Our undercover officers have witnessed blatant disregard for transport laws and the welfare of the animals.
"With 10 million livestock moved by road every week in the EU, the potential for suffering is immense.
 | | Some sheep are subject to long journeys in terrible conditions |
"A huge body of scientific evidence shows that even healthy animals can suffer serious stress, dehydration and fatigue in transit. Others can be injured due to poor handling, overcrowding and on-board conditions. The resulting meat can be left bruised or dry.
"What is the point of moving livestock, often across several countries, just to slaughter them at the end of the journey? The animals and the consumer both lose out - it's senseless."
The RSPCA said tens of thousands of sheep were transported from the UK to mainland Europe for slaughter every month.
Once across the English Channel the animals could disappear into holding stations before being sent for slaughter in any part of the continent as dealers sought the highest possible profit.
The European Commission has said current laws and poor enforcement are failing animals. But proposals for change, due since 1998 and expected in April 2003, have been postponed yet again.
Marlour Heinen, of RSPCA International, condemned the lack of progress. She said: "The proposal is ready but publication is continually delayed. It appears the Commission is caving in to pressure from the industry."
The RSPCA said it believed the laws should be radically improved and strictly enforced with an eight hour maximum journey introduced as soon as possible.
The society is also urging the UK Government to insist that animals are slaughtered as close as possible to their original farms and only transported over long distances on the hook, not the hoof.
It said the food industry could also gain from transporting carcasses instead of live animals. Evidence indicates that the effects of long distance transportation, including mental distress, injuries, hunger and dehydration, can adversely affect meat quality and profits.
Multiple journeys also increase the chances of diseases spreading, as in the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.
Dr Wrathall urged consumers to use their power to help change attitudes in government, the farming industry and the retail sector.
She said: "RSPCA surveys have consistently shown that consumers care about food animal welfare.
"We want people to know that by joining our campaign and calling for a clampdown on welfare problems caused by live transport they can help stop this trail of suffering."
A spokesman for Government's farming ministry Defra said: "The Government shares the RSPCA's concerns at the cruelty highlighted in their report, Standing Room Only.
"We take animal welfare very seriously and would prefer a trade in meat instead of the long-distance transport of live animals for slaughter.
"The RSPCA highlights the poor conditions that result when the welfare rules are not complied with or enforced.
"Many of the incidents reported concern the transport of animals between countries such as Spain and Greece or into the EU from eastern Europe.
"We have robust enforcement procedures and checks in place to ensure that these regulations are observed within the UK and when animals are exported from this country.
"The best way to improve conditions is to raise standards and enforcement efforts on a European basis, including the countries due to join the EU.
"Defra ministers have consistently called on the EU Farm Council for an eight-hour limit on journeys involving live animals."
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