Livestock Carriers News

More than 130 charities, experts and celebrities including Brian Cox CBE, Alan Cumming OBE, Zoë Wanamaker CBE, and Joanna Lumley DBE, are calling for a ban on live exports.Led by Compassion in World Farming, the global partners from 33 countries including Eurogroup for Animals, Four Paws, Animals International, and World Animal Protection have written to the intergovernmental body for animal health and welfare, WOAH, urging it to end the overcrowding, extreme heat, hunger, dehydration, injury, severe stress and death of animals in transport.

While bombs are falling in the Middle East, EU Member States continue to export live animals to the region, with the European Commission (EC) refusing to be held accountable, says the Eurogroup for Animals, the French animal welfare organization Welfarm and the German NGO Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF).The organizations have submitted a joint petition to the EC calling for an immediate halt to these transports. Almost 50,000 signatories are calling on the EU to instruct its Member…

No settlement was reached on Friday at the Krems Regional Court in Austria regarding the civil proceedings concerning the animal transport of the Spiridon II livestock carrier. The hearing was adjourned.A new hearing, expected to last all day, has been scheduled for mid-November.Several witnesses from Turkey are also expected to be heard at that time.Turkish cattle importers are suing cattle dealer Christian Klinger and his company, Agro Breeding GmbH, based in Jagenbach, Austria.

The South African Veterinary Association’s (SAVA) has released a formal position statement opposing the export of live animals by sea for slaughter at destination.SAVA joins many other international veterinary associations in condemning this practice. SAVA’s statement draws on extensive peer-reviewed scientific research to conclude that the welfare of animals transported by sea is unavoidably compromised. It identifies a range of inherent harms, among them thermal stress, dangerous ammonia accumulation, the physical impact of ship motion, and risk of infectious disease.

Vroon Holding has agreed to sell its livestock activities, operated under its subsidiary Livestock Express, to Heytesbury, an Australian agribusiness and shipping group.The transaction marks another important step in the reshaping of Vroon, allowing the company to focus on its key niche markets in energy, liquids, infrastructure and offshore wind.Heytesbury is an established participant in the northern Australian cattle trade, as well as a livestock vessel owner in its own right.Vroon will divest all 11 of its owned livestock vessels…

Ethical Farming Ireland (EFI) has launched a new billboard campaign to raise awareness of pregnant dairy heifers being shipped to Algeria.The first shipment of pregnant dairy heifers left Waterford Port for Oran and Algiers ports in Algeria on January 4, 2025, and there have been three more shipments since.“Algeria is building its dairy sector so is in need of good quality milking cows. Ironically, Algeria is, or was, a significant importer of Irish dairy,” says EFI representative Caroline Rowley.The journey involves five to seven days at sea…

Animals are being transported in their thousands to active conflict areas such as Israel, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia.Animal protection organisations have been calling on the European Commission to suspend the voyages, andtwo petitions have now been established.Animals could be exposed to rocket fire and air strikes, mishandled or abandoned by frightened workers while they remain in small, cramped vehicles, at port.Port closures due to conflict happen frequently, leading to animals being left adrift at sea for up to weeks in growingly desperate circumstances.

Following the deaths of hundreds on cattle on the livestock carrier Spiridon II last year, Animal Welfare Foundation reports that Turkish importers are taking legal action against the livestock dealer.The Spiridon II was stranded off the Turkish coast for several weeks after a month-long voyage from Uruguay when the consignment of around 2,900 dairy cattle was rejected by local authorities. Court transcripts translated by Animal Welfare Foundation indicate that 58 cows died in transit to Turkey…

The New Zealand government will not move forward with plans to reinstate live animal exports by sea, ensuring the ban on the trade remains in place at least for this parliamentary term.Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard confirmed yesterday that Cabinet had been unable to reach agreement on reviving the industry.SAFE CEO Debra Ashton says the announcement is a huge relief. "Live export forces animals into grueling journeys across oceans where they can spend weeks confined on crowded ships, exposed to extreme heat, distress, and injury.

The NGO Robin des Bois is concerned about the thousands of seafarers currently stuck in the Middle East and about the approximately 70,000 animals on livestock carriers in the region.The livestock has been exported from South America, the European Union, and the Horn of Africa to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Iraq, Israel, and Jordan.“Under normal circumstances, the conditions of confinement on board are deplorable. In times of war, global pandemics, epizootics…

Following the shipping company Brittany Ferries’ refusal to stop transporting unweaned calves from Ireland to France, NGOs including Compassion in World Farming, FOUR PAWS, Welfarm, and Ethical Farming Ireland are planning a media “storm” to make people aware of the animal welfare issues.For over a year, Brittany Ferries has been carrying tens of thousands of unweaned calves on its ships. By the time the ships reach France, the calves have gone for over 18 hours without food.This month marks the start of peak calf export season.

The 116-meter livestock carrier Blue Ocean A was towed to safety after suffering engine failure in adverse conditions on January 28.The Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged vessel was sailing off the island of Saint Peter, Italy, on its way to Spain with 33 crew on board when a request for help was sent. Winds of over 50 knots and waves as high as five meters pushed the ship towards shore making operations particularly complex, said the Italian Coast Guard.The rescue was coordinated by the Italian Coast Guard of Cagliari…

Over eight in every 10 (82%) citizens across the EU are concerned about the welfare of animals during live transport, a new survey concludes, as EU regulation remains at risk of being weakened and leaving millions of animals unprotected.A newly-launched survey conducted across nine EU member states has highlighted public concern for the plight of millions of animals transported over long distances, with an overwhelming majority supporting the need for stricter rules.Most participants (80%) agree that long-distance journeys cause unnecessary suffering to animals…

A global network of 36 animal welfare and protection organizations around the world has issued an urgent call to the IMO to introduce binding international regulations for livestock carriers, warning that the ageing fleet poses serious and escalating risks to human life, animal welfare, public health, and the marine environment.In an open letter sent to the IMO Secretary-General, the organizations outlined systemic safety failures across the global live export shipping fleet, which is now the oldest of any ocean shipping sector…

The livestock carrier Spiridon II has unloaded cattle in the Libyan city of Benghazi after being stranded off the Turkish coast for more than a month after a month-long voyage from Uruguay with nearly 3,000 cattle on board.The Spiridon II is now back at sea.It is unclear what happened to the dead animals and sewage onboard. Dozens of animals had already died, and many calves had been born, lost, or perished. The dead animals and excrement cannot legally be disposed of in the Mediterranean Sea due to MARPOL regulations.

South Africa’s National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) has welcomed a judgment delivered by the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Makhanda which strengthens its authority to prevent cruelty to animals during the export of live animals by sea.The ruling overturns severe restrictions previously imposed by the East London Magistrates’ Court during the planned loading of more than 53,000 animals onto the live export vessel Al Messilah in July 2023.The Magistrate had, amongst other things…

The recent rejection of around 2,900 dairy cattle on the Spiridon II raises animal welfare and pollution concerns when, after a long sea voyage, the laden vessel has again had to return to sea.The 52-year-old livestock carrier has left Turkey after its cargo was rejected by local authorities. Court transcripts translated by Animal Welfare Foundation indicate that 58 cows died in transit to Turkey, 140 cows had miscarriages in transit, 50 newborn calves were present on board, but another 90 are unaccounted for.Having departed from Montevideo…

The 52-year-old livestock carrier Spiridon II remains in quarantine off Turkey with around 20 crew and 2,853 cows onboard.Having departed from Montevideo (Uruguay) bound for Turkey on September 19 with 2,901 heifers, some of which may be pregnant, the Spiridon II is, over 50 days later, still unable to deliver the animals to shore.Veterinary authorities are refusing to allow them to disembark due to a controversy over ear tags that guarantee, among other things, the exact origin…

The 52-year-old MV Spiridon II loaded 2901 cattle has been stranded off Turkey, denied permission to unload due to issues with the animals’ ear tag.According to local media, the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry inspected the cattle when the vessel arrived but denied permission to land the animals because approximately 500 of the ear tags did not match documentation on the ship.The vessel departed Uruguay on September 19 and arrived at Bandirma Port on October 22. The…

A comprehensive independent investigation by Bloomberg into the 2020 sinking of the Gulf Livestock 1 has just been aired.For the families of the seafarers lost, it's been an ongoing saga of hope and sadness as some mounted their own search and rescue efforts and fought for more information on what went wrong. The livestock carrier was sailing from New Zealand to China with 43 crew and approximately 6,000 dairy cattle onboard when it capsized in the East China Sea during Typhoon Maysak.Around 8 p.m. on September 1, the Gulf Livestock 1’s engines failed.

The EU Commissioner for Animal Welfare Olivér Várhelyi has responded to a letter from animal welfare NGOs about the plight of calves transported by truck on ferries from Ireland to the EU.The letter detailed three separate studies which found that the calves were negatively impacted, suffering from dehydration, muscle fatigue, low energy, and hypoglycaemia.The Commissioner invited the NGOs to a meeting which was attended by Caroline Rowley from Ethical Farming Ireland (EFI) and…

A joint letter has been sent to EU Animal Welfare Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi urging the Commission to halt the transport of unweaned calves from Ireland to France by roro ferry.It follows a similar letter sent in February.In 2022 the European Commission conducted an audit into the export of unweaned calves from Ireland to France and concluded that these journeys breach Regulation EC1/2005 on the protection of animals during long distance transport, because the feeding requirements were not being met.Unweaned calves should be fed after nine hours if necessary or after a maximum of 19 hours.

People in a wooden boat opened fire on a Comoros-flagged livestock carrier in the Red Sea near Yemen on Thursday, and the vessel was detained by the Yemeni Coast Guard, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).A maritime security official in the Yemeni government told Reuters the vessel was released after being held on suspicion, with naval forces concerned because its AIS tracking system was turned off and it was sailing north from the Horn of Africa.British security firm Ambrey said the vessel…