Guardian: Shocking Reality of Live Animal Exports

Global demand for meat is on the rise and so is the long-distance trade in live farm animals. Horses, pigs, cows, sheep, donkeys, goats are raised in one part of the world with access to hay and other feed, then trucked or shipped to other countries for slaughter and processing. Long journeys and border delays are stressful. “Sometimes, the animals are left on the lorries for days, stuck inside metallic freight containers barely shielded from the blinding sun as truckers, bureaucrats, importers and exporters haggle over paperwork and fees,” writes Borzou Daragahi for the Guardian. “The cows struggle to bring their heads close to the fresh air. Their containers are filled with urine and manure, levels of ammonia steadily rising inside the trailers as journeys wear on.” Most traffic heads from cooler climates to warmer places like the Middle East or Indonesia. Activists with groups like Eyes on Animals monitor the treatment of confused animals, suffering from overcrowding and lack of water, and describe empathy for the truckers who would prefer working on their own small farms. Activists urge that animals be raised close to where they are slaughtered and only exported as frozen carcasses. “Animals are not goods,” notes Reineke Hameleers, director of Eurogroup for Animals. “They are beings.” – YaleGlobal