NSPCA condemns ‘animal cruelty’ on ship
NSPCA and animal rights activists have come out in criticism of the transportation of animals bound for Mauritius after their images were made public.
The national council of SPCAs (NSPCA) has condemned what it calls the “live export suffering” of animals transported by sea and destined for slaughter. The company sending transporting the animals, Page Farming Trust (PFT), denied the accusations of animal maltreatment, Rekord Eastreported.
This comes after NSPCA farm animal protection unit staff and the NSPCA veterinarian monitored the handling and loading of animals on to the Holstein Express, a ship loaded with live animals destined to be slaughtered in Mauritius.
In a media statement ,the NSPCA said: “On July 3, 2 473 cattle were on board when the vessel set sail from the port of East London. On July 17, an estimated 2 229 cattle were on board plus 743 sheep and goats. According to expert evidence in our possession, they will suffer during the trip. The manner of their deaths at the destination is questionable.”
Page Farming Trust (PFT) owner Bruce Page has responded to the NSPCA statements and said: “Following the protests surrounding a shipment of livestock to Mauritius in July 2015, the exporters, Page Farming Trust, are endeavouring to provide a balanced view regarding the export of 4 700 cattle and 7 500 goats and sheep, again to Mauritius from East London.”
According to NSPCA, instances of animal abuse have been observed. On the first shipment, witnesses reported animals being kicked in their faces, excessive and/or unnecessary prodding and tail twisting by the staff employed by PFT and a police officer.
Further intervention followed when NSPCA senior inspectors found a bull lying in a pen with a heavy loose metal gate around its head. The animal was unable to move.
“The thought of killing a lamb or a bullock is distasteful, understandably, to the majority of people. Yet they are able to put it aside when they contemplate the succulent Sunday roast. The farmers and meat industry have to create a seamless journey from veld to braai, and the more humane the transition, the better the meat,” Page said.
Page said although 2014 saw no mortalities, he admitted one animal did die during the recent shipment to Mauritius. “Although the company has been legally exporting for 16 years and has shipped over 100 000 animals with a 99.995% mortality-free record, the shipment raised the ire of both the SPCA and animal rights activists.”
In two separate incidents last year, a giraffe in Mpumalanga and one in Pretoria, Gauteng, died while they were being transported.
A giraffe slipped and fell to the ground from a trailer during a routine operation at Ntulo Wildlife Estate in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, last year September. The dead giraffe was later slaughtered on the property after the incident.
This was preceded by the controversial death of a giraffe in July 2014, which made national and international headlines. The animal was killed when its head struck the Garsfontein Bridge on the N1 highway in Pretoria.
– Caxton News Service
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