Thousands of forgotten crabs rot at OR Tambo Airport
The crabs had been overlooked and left in the sun for nine days without food and water
Thousands of crabs destined for Hong Kong were found either dead or dying at OR Tambo International Airport.
The National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) was alerted to the shipment of about 5 300 crabs that had been left in the sun at a cargo facility at the airport, and were either dead or dying, and infested with maggots, said Arno de Klerk, manager special projects unit at the NSPCA.
The crabs had arrived on August 11 from Mozambique and were destined for Hong Kong but due to the unrest there, the flight had been cancelled and the crabs were forgotten about.
The NSPCA was only alerted on August 20, which means these crabs had been overlooked and left in the sun for nine days without even the provision of food and water, said De Klerk.
The company that sent the crabs had not adhered to International Air Transport Association (IATA) Regulations and had packaged and restrained them in an inhumane manner. The cargo facility had then left these creatures in the sun, also disregarding the IATA Regulations.
“It is disheartening that these living creatures would be treated so horrifically and that the attitude towards crabs is that of ‘perishable cargo’ as opposed to live animals” said De Klerk.
More than half of the crabs were still alive and had to be euthanized due to the shocking condition they were in.
The NSPCA’s investigation is ongoing and they will not hesitate to lay charges in terms of the Animals Protection Act No 71 of 1962.
