Livestock Ship: Cow Deaths & Controversies at Sea

Cows on a ship faced a month-long journey with numerous deaths and births. Turkish authorities rejected the animals, leading to further complications and welfare concerns. The ship's route and animal conditions raise questions.

When the ship got here on October 20, Turkish authorities contradicted the animals. Already, the cows had actually already gone to sea for more than a month. Forty-eight cows had actually died, and calves had actually been born on board, over half of the newborn calf bones passed away.

Uruguayan Firm’s Perspective

“We put the animals on the ship. The importer paid, and employed the ship. After that, the operation remained in his hands,” Fernando Fernández, supervisor of the Uruguayan firm Ganosan Animals, said on Monday in the radio program Valor Agregado.

Government Authority’s Role

In Uruguay, the Priest of Livestock, Farming and Fisheries, Alfredo Fratti, is the government authority responsible for authorizing live-export deliveries, releasing export licenses, looking after animal-welfare compliance, and making certain transparency and traceability of stock.

Ship’s Route and Animal Welfare

After false signals recommending the ship was going back to Montevideo, animal-welfare organizations and reporters waited at the Strait of Gibraltar. The ship turned off its signal and later on re-emerged in Libya.

Fernández stated that when Turkey declined the pets, the importer requested for urgent documents to send out the cows to Morocco. Nonetheless, the ship never showed up there. Last Friday, Fernández saw that the ship had stopped near the Libyan shore.

Conditions Inside Livestock Ships

Veterinarian Lynn Simpson, that has worked on numerous livestock ships, clarified what conditions inside these vessels look like: “Inside, these ships are like multi-story parking area. Some have up to 16 decks. Spiridon II has about seven. Lots of are below the waterline. The animals on the reduced decks don’t see any kind of natural light for the whole trip.”

“We placed the pets on the ship. When the ship got here on October 20, Turkish authorities declined to accept the pets. Veterinarian Lynn Simpson, who has functioned on several livestock ships, clarified what problems inside these vessels look like: “Inside, these ships are like multi-story car parks.