Horrific animal transports

Horror at the border: calf cut from mother

Animals that are too weak are mercilessly dragged along on the ground.(Bild: privat)

The Association Against Animal Factories (VGT) has received particularly cruel video footage of the brutal killing of pregnant calves at the Turkish border. It is further evidence of how four-legged friends are sometimes mistreated during animal transports.

Just last week, the VGT uncovered a transport of pregnant Austrian calves to Turkey, including numerous violations of the law - we reported. However, the new video material leaked to the association, recorded at the Turkish border, is actually unbearable for sentient people. It shows how a pregnant cow from Europe that has already been killed has its calf cut out of its belly with a knife. The calf, which is still alive, is then brutally thrown onto the blood-covered ground.

The calf has been cut from its mother and falls to the ground.(Bild: privat)

The footage is so gruesome that we only want to show it to you as screenshots. But that's not all: the VGT received further videos showing sick and exhausted cattle being brutally dragged out of the transporter by a tractor with ropes wrapped around their front legs. "These actions are not only ethically reprehensible, but are also clear violations of the EU Animal Transport Regulation. These practices are part of the brutal transportation of live animals and must be stopped immediately," the activists said in a statement. 

In principle, animals must be tested for various diseases by an official veterinarian at the place of dispatch before being exported. Some diseases can only break out during transportation due to the increased stress level, but only completely healthy animals may be exported. According to VGT information, however, an outdated and inaccurate rapid test procedure is used at the Turkish border, meaning that even healthy cattle are killed in cases of doubt.

Cruelty to animals at the border must no longer be tolerated.

Verein gegen Tierfabriken

For example, if there is suspicion at the border that an animal has contracted leptospirosis, which is particularly prevalent in Lower Austria, the four-legged friend may be killed on the spot. This is despite the fact that the disease is treatable in many cases. The VGT appeals to the Austrian government (including the incoming one) and the EU to "assume their responsibility and ban the export of live animals to third countries immediately." A corresponding petition can be signed online by animal lovers.