The Spanish government will slaughter all the calves that have been on board the Karim Allah since December. Meanwhile, the Elbeik is making its way back to Cartagena.
Their fate was sealed from the very beginning, as indeed is the fate of all animals in livestock farming. The story of these 2,600 calves began in December of last year when, at just a few months old, they were loaded onto the Spanish vessels Elbeik and Karim Allah in Cartagena, to be transported and then sold to slaughterhouses in Libya and Turkey respectively, where they were to be killed using methods that are considered illegal in many countries.
Once the ships arrived at their destination ports, the competent authorities suspected that the animals had contracted bluetongue disease, a zoonotic disease transmitted by midges that affects ruminants, and turned the vessels away. The cattle thus began an interminable two-month ordeal that ended for some of them only last week, when the Karim Allah left the port of Cagliari — where it had been temporarily anchored — and returned to Cartagena. The Spanish government ordered the animals to be slaughtered, but thanks to the work of Animal Equality, harrowing details have come to light about what these animals were forced to endure.
One can only imagine what these animals went through during the more than two months they spent on board the Karim Allah. Youngsters between 6 and 12 months old, forced to live on a vessel in conditions diametrically opposed to what they would naturally require, crammed together among their own excrement. The report by Spanish veterinarians, commissioned by the government to board the ship and assess the situation, confirmed the appalling conditions in which the animals were kept, further worsened by the lengthy voyage. It remains unclear whether they were truly affected by bluetongue, but the report highlighted other problems affecting the skin, eyes and legs, such as alopecia, various forms of scaling, crusting and joint inflammation consistent with septic arthritis.
Furthermore, the report confirmed what had long been suspected: the carcasses of 20 animals had been concealed and thrown into the sea, and a further 9 had not been registered.
As Animal Equality also points out — which, together with Animal welfare foundation and Enpa, helped expose what was happening — "these are alarming conditions that once again demonstrate the pointlessness of live animal transport within European territory and to non-EU countries".
In a statement issued on Saturday 27 February, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture stipulated that if the Karim Allah did not begin to "isolate and slaughter the animals in accordance with applicable regulations", it would take matters into its own hands.
In response to this statement, Animal Equality and Enpa decided to proceed with a complaint against those responsible, lodged with the European Commission, so that the crimes committed do not go unpunished.
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The Karim Allah is not the only vessel drifting at sea with animals on board. Another ship, the Elbeik, which also departed from Spain and was turned away from ports in Libya and Turkey due to suspected disease among the animals on board, has been adrift for months and, until a few days ago, was anchored off the port of Cyprus. According to data reported on the Marine Traffic monitoring website, the Elbeik is now returning to Spain, with Cartagena as its destination.
Even though the condition of the animals has not yet been officially established, a witness told the British daily the Guardian that of the approximately 1,770 animals loaded, 35 may have died.
As Animal Equality rightly points out, "while government officials and those responsible for the transport pass the buck among themselves, what is certain is that the animals have paid the highest price" — as is the case in every situation that concerns them.
For each and every one of those 2,600 individuals, there is nothing more to be done. 2,600 lives cease to exist from today. Faced with the helplessness one feels when reading this story, the only thing we can truly do is not be complicit, because situations like this are the norm in a food system that not only pretends all this suffering is acceptable, but does absolutely nothing to prevent it.