A three-month long odyssey in the waters of the Mediterranean, which ended in the worst possible way for the more than 2600 animals aboard the two ships which left last December 18 from the port of Tarragona, in Catalonia: already slaughtered a week ago the 873 calves of the “Karim Allah ”, the same fate will in all likelihood befall the almost 1,800 of the“ Elbeik ”in the next few days, docked Thursday night in the port of Cartagena, in the Spanish region of Murcia. It was immediately clear that nothing would go according to plan, just two days after the departure for a journey that had turned into a nightmare even for the crews of the two boats, now exhausted. The cattle were destined for sale in Turkey, where they were expected to arrive on Christmas morning. But the Turkish authorities blocked the purchase and prevented the ships from docking, citing the suspicion that they had contracted the blue tongue, a slang term for bluetongue.
There was no evidence that this was the case, but the chaotic bureaucratic handling of the affair helped to complicate matters. The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture immediately ensured that the livestock load had the regular documentation of the veterinary authorities certifying “the good health of the animals”. The problem is that, in the certificates, Aragon appeared as the place of origin. Officially a blue tongue free area, but with the drawback that – recently – an outbreak of this disease had occurred in a farm in the province of Huesca. The certificate was generic, it indicated the region, if it had been specified that the animals came from Zaragoza and Teruel, all problems would have been avoided.
“The Spanish government could have avoided the suffering of all these animals adrift for months”, reports Silvia Barquero, executive director of Animal Equality, who has followed the affair with concern since the beginning and now threatens actions against Spain and all those responsible to the competent European authorities. The NGO claims that from Madrid “they did not even inform the European Commission of what was happening with the ships” and reports that, on February 18, it was the head of the Italian veterinary services who informed the situation of the ship “Karim Allah” which was found near the port of Cagliari.
After the ships were rejected by Turkey, the attempt to sell the calves in Libya also failed because, according to Animal Equality, the ministry did not respond to “repeated requests for Spain to accept the purchase and issue new certificates” . From the “Elbeik” they denounce that the Madrid authorities have “communicated that the animals were not vaccinated while most of them were”. And although Greece then allowed boats to refuel and load food for the animals and crew, the situation became more complicated day by day. The stocks were running out, the circumnavigation of the Mediterranean has turned into a nightmare, including a long stop off the coast of Mazara del Vallo.
A week ago the direction of the Merchant Navy, at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, ordered “Karim Allah” to return to Spain, not to the port of departure (Tarragona), but to that of Cartagena, where he was a slaughterhouse was set up for the occasion: the cattle were inspected and, found the poor conditions following the very long journey, sacrificed. The same procedure is now expected for the “Elbeik” calves. With the difference that a hundred have already arrived dead at their destination. For Animal Equality it is an unacceptable scandal that must lead to an end to the sale of live animals.
.