Live Exports: Beyond Borders, Beyond Imagination

Animals standing in their own excrement for weeks, suffering from untreated injuries, young animals dying on overcrowded trucks and animals slaughtered without stunning in a cruel manner: These are all systemic problems of the live animal trade.

We call on the EU Commission to prohibit the transport of live animals to third countries.

The EU exports around one million cattle and nearly three million sheep a year mainly to the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye. There is no contingency plans in the event of transport delays and import refusal at borders of third countries. Lengthy delays arise at the EU-Türkiye border if there are problems with the animals’ paperwork or health status. Türkiye will not allow the animals to be unloaded until the problems are addressed, and EU animal health laws do not permit rejected animals to re-enter the EU. The animals can be stuck for days or even weeks on the trucks in sweltering heat and standing or lying in their own faeces and urine.

Animals are transported on prolonged sea journeys, often on substandard vessels. These journeys frequently last 6-10 days and in the worst cases even 2-3 weeks. Packed into overcrowded pens, animals can suffer from heat stress, respiratory illness and harmful gases such as ammonia.

Shortly after arrival or after a period of fattening in the importing third countries, the EU animals will be slaughtered. Breeding animals from the EU also end up in the slaughterhouses sooner or later. The film shows the slaughter of animals from France, Germany, Spain, Czechia and Romania. During slaughter in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye even minimum welfare standards are ignored.

The scenes in the film are not exceptional; they show the systematic neglect of fundamental animal welfare standards in most slaughterhouses in the Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye.

Even if the EU strengthens the proposed new Regulation to better address the suffering involved in the long journeys, you cannot do anything to eliminate the suffering inherent in exports of animals to countries where EU animal welfare rules have no validity and to prevent EU animals from being slaughtered in ways that involve extreme pain and suffering.

The only solution is to end the cruel live exports trade!

This film was made by the following NGOs: Animal Welfare Foundation, Animals’ Angels, Animals International, Eyes on Animals, Ethical Farming Ireland and Compassion in World Farming.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The NGOs involved expressly take a stand against any form of discrimination or hostility against people of other cultures or religions. A lack of animal welfare is an international problem – not just that of certain countries or groups of people. We condemn any act, practice or method that causes animals suffering, regardless of where it occurs, and are committed to its abolition.