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It took place in the presence of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. It has been demanded that the trade and export of live animals outside the EU should be stopped. The animal rights organization held a rally in front of the Ministry of Louis Planes in Madrid based on the recent incident of two ships, Kareem Allah and Elbeek.

More than 2500 cows were killed

Three months after floating in the sea, all the cows on the Elbeque ship had to be slaughtered once in Spain. This put an end to the suffering of 1,800 animals, which was so bad that veterinarians could no longer provide any other solution. There were still 1,610 hungry cows on the ship destined for Turkey. About 180 cattle had previously died and been thrown into the ship.

In Turkey, animals are not allowed to land because they are said to be infected. Attempts to exterminate the animals in Libya and Egypt failed, after which the ship made its way back to Spain. There are hundreds of bulls in ‘Kareem Allah’ for the same reason.

1 million animals left Spanish ports

Although countries such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands or Germany no longer allow this type of travel, direct animal exports from Spain to the Middle East and North Africa continue to grow; In 2019, about one million animals left Spanish ports.

Spain has jumped into a business space

Spain and Romania have reduced these regulations as Australia has stopped exporting animals to Saudi Arabia for refusing to comply with Australia’s animal welfare guarantee system. Large cargo ships carrying 35,000 animals are currently being licensed by Australia to operate from Spain.

Regarding the two ships, it was reported several days before their arrival in Turkey that the animals of Kareem Allah and Elbeek would be rejected by Spain. Despite this, the Spanish authorities took no action and did not notify the ships. They also did not inform the European Commission. Italy did just that on February 18, when ships had been stranded in the Mediterranean for two months.

The Animal Rights Organization needs information from the Ministry about both vessels. “Spain has a responsibility to ensure the well-being of its animals and to comply with European standards. The government must stop being complicit in the suffering of these animals. This is neither acceptable nor sustainable and it filters out animal cruelty in Europe,” said Sylvia Barquero, director of the organization in Spain.

Studies and reports by the European Commission confirm that the application of European law regarding the protection of animals during transportation is completely inadequate in Spain. The events with Kareem Allah and the Elbeek ships are tragic evidence.