Lamb transports from Eastern Europe: Suffering on four levels

Animal welfare activists from Essere Animali carried out several road checks in the Gorizia region in northeastern Italy.

Seven trucks from Eastern Europe were identified transporting animals under overcrowded conditions, without adequate watering facilities or appropriate partitions and transport heights.

600’000 lambs slaughtered before Christmas

As the Christmas season approached, the number of trucks importing lambs from Eastern Europe into Italy increased, meaning long, gruelling journeys for the animals.

Last year, more than 600’000 lambs were slaughtered in Italy in the days before Christmas (source: National Livestock Registry Database), accounting for approximately one quarter of annual slaughterings, and of these, every fourth is imported from abroad.

The lambs are between two and three months old and are transported mainly from Romania and Hungary to slaughterhouses in Lazio and Apulia, with journey times of up to 24 to 30 hours.

Documented animal welfare violations

In recent days, Essere Animali conducted an inspection of live animal transport vehicles at the Italian-Slovenian border and documented the condition of seven four-storey trucks that were not tall enough to allow the animals to stand upright, leading to various problems, including restricted freedom of movement. The heads of the lambs were touching the uppermost level of the compartment, which can cause impacts, bruising and injuries, and does not allow for adequate ventilation.

Activists from Essere Animali also noted:

• Overcrowding: The density is too high, it is impossible for all animals to reach the drinking troughs, which are fitted on one side only, and there is a risk of them kicking each other if anyone wants to sit down to rest;
• Dangerous gaps: Lambs get trapped in the gaps between the floor and wall or between partition walls and shelves;
• Inadequate drinking systems: It was found that they are inactive during transport and only activated during stops, and some were not functional at all. Even when they were operational, they were not suitable for lambs, as these are unable to use them due to their young age.

Only 3% of transports inspected

The inadequate and unsuitable drinking system is a prime example of the current regulatory gaps which, in combination with the high transport density, lead to suffering and thirst among the lambs and seriously expose them to the risk of dehydration.

These are conditions that were also denounced by Essere Animali at Easter 2022, and for which the organisation was able to obtain sanctions under Legislative Decree No. 151 of 25 July 2007, which provides for sanctions for violations of the provisions of European Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations.

In 2021, only 3% of trucks carrying lambs from Romania were inspected. The same fate befell the one million cattle transported from France and the more than 800 thousand pigs arriving from Denmark, with 4.6% of shipments inspected. Of the more than 66 thousand live animal shipments arriving in Italy, only 152 sanctions were imposed.

The monitoring activity of Essere Animali also aims to document the conditions of transports that, while complying with current regulations, exhibit critical aspects for animal welfare and highlight the need to implement European legislation that better protects animals during the delicate phase of transport, which often causes additional stress and suffering.

The European Commission is currently conducting a comprehensive revision of legislation on animal husbandry, transport and slaughter in order to align it with the latest scientific findings, broaden its scope and ensure a higher level of animal welfare . The new legislative proposal is expected in 2023, and member states can play an important role by supporting an ambitious proposal for the protection of farmed animals.

We will inform the European Commission and the Minister of Health about the results of the inspections that we have once again carried out at the border this year, which document an alarming reality. The European regulation is not only frequently violated, it is also incapable of concretely protecting animals, and this is the most serious fact demonstrating how important a revision of the legislation is. Today it is legal to transport two-month-old lambs for up to 30 hours, exposing them to conditions that cause them great stress and suffering. Together with other non-governmental organisations from across Europe, we are calling for better protection, such as a ban on the long-distance transport of live animals, a reduction in transport times, and a ban on the transport of unweaned animals. The European Commission has the opportunity to genuinely improve conditions for animals. Do not betray the demands of your citizens!

Simone Montuschi, President of Essere Animali