Discover how farmed animals suffer and die before reaching the slaughterhouse…and why some species wash up on European shores.
On European shores, a worrying trend is taking place: dead animals washing up on public beaches.
These bodies are evidence of a cruel trade known as animal trafficking, in which billions of animals undergo long-distance journeys each year before being slaughtered.
Here are five things you need to know about global animal transport:
Many animals are no more than one year old
Scared and disoriented, young animals must travel thousands of miles to places where their health is not guaranteed. For example, many are shipped from the European Union – where minimal protections are in place – to countries with even more lenient animal protection laws.
Workers beat, kick, drag, and electrocute animals
Young animals are thrown, beaten, kicked and dragged onto trucks, often soothed with electric prods. In many cases, animals are transported to seaports and loaded onto ships – even if they are too injured or sick to survive the journey overseas.
Animals travel for days or weeks before slaughter
Animals shipped abroad are kept on old ships that are not fully equipped for their intended use. The temperature is often uncontrolled and manure covers the deck.
Likewise, Animal Equality investigation of transport trucks in Mexico found animals left covered in their feces and urine, sometimes slipping and falling. Many people were transported in uncovered trucks, leaving them exposed to harsh weather.
Meanwhile, in the US, drivers must stop every 28 hours to relieve animals. This law is frequently ignored.
High mortality rate during live transport
Due to harsh conditions during transportation, millions of animals die in the US alone from dehydration, extreme stress, starvation, injury or disease.
In the case of direct shipping from Europe, animals that die before arrival are often thrown overboard and into the sea. Although the practice is banned, dead animals often wash up on European shores, with their ears cut off to remove their identification tags. This way, their origin cannot be determined by authorities and crimes cannot be reported.
Animals are slaughtered after reaching their destination
Once there, workers pushed the injured animals out of the truck and herded them into the slaughterhouse. Inside slaughterhouses, anesthesia equipment frequently breaks down, leaving animals unconscious due to their throats being slit. An investigation by Animal Equality even found out Animals were skinned and carved alive.
Some animals transported from Europe to the Middle East fell into the water as they tried to escape. Those rescued were still taken to the slaughterhouse, where they slowly bled to death while remaining conscious.
You can stop animal transport cruelty
Animal Equality is a global force working tirelessly across eight countries to protect animals from suffering. From protesting the transport of live animals to investigating factory farming, we are committed to bringing dignity and compassion to all animals.
If you are passionate about building a world where animals are respected and protected, we invite you to stand with us as an advocate. Together, we can leave animal cruelty in the past and rewrite the story of animals around the world.
DO YOU WANT TO DO MORE FOR ANIMALS?
Help Animal Equality reach its goal of 50 new monthly donors and protect animals every day as a monthly hero!
You can also prevent suffering for pigs, chickens, cows, sheep and other animals by replacing animal products with plant-based proteins. Start your journey today with a downloadable copy of the Love Veg cookbook.
LIVE KINDLY
With their rich emotional lives and unbreakable family bonds, farm animals deserve to be protected.
You can build a kinder world by replacing animal food products with plant-based foods.
