Hannah's Diary

This summer Hannah Westen, Campaigns Officer for Research and Education, embarked on her second field trip, following Europe's slaughter routes. This is her diary.

 

 

Day 1

 

With an early morning flight, Jo White (Director of Campaigns), Basil Hayes (Film and New Media Officer) and I arrived in Hungary – a transit country for almost all horses from Eastern Europe destined for slaughter in Italy. We immediately set about observing the motorway for signs of horses in transit. It was stiflingly hot and we were relieved not to see any horses being transported in such heat, but we knew that later in the week the roads would be a lot busier with fully laden lorries travelling through the heat of the day.

 

 

Day 2

 

Our observations revealed many empty vehicles, returning after leaving their load of horses in Italy the previous week, but no live horses. We moved on to a control post (where horses are fed, watered and rested) to see what information we could gain there and were pleased to learn that a veterinary inspection was due to take place the following day. Such inspections are vital to ensure improved standards of welfare and hygiene. Unfortunately the inspection meant that we were prevented from staying to observe any horses arriving, so we made some last minute changes to our schedule and were soon on the road again.

 

 

Day 3

 

On arrival at a second control post we were dismayed to find it closed and deserted; weeds growing around the buildings showed that it had been this way for some time. Enquiries revealed that the control post closed just three months after our last visit, when it held 100 plus horses. We were extremely concerned to learn that no other control posts had seen an increase in trade following its closure, suggesting that transporters are just not stopping to rest, water and feed the horses. Later, whilst watching the roads, we spotted two shipments of horses. It was 31°C and the heat in the car was unbearable, despite air conditioning and ample water. How the horses were coping crammed into metal lorries with no space and no water, I couldn’t imagine. Even through the bars of the moving vehicles I could see the sweat coating their bodies.

 

 

Day 4

 

This is was our first opportunity to view horses close-up at a control post. Walking down the line of horses I madke a record of the horses that were injured, exhausted, diseased, depressed, stressed... the list goes on. The horses we see are often massively obese, having been fattened for slaughter. One such mare caught my attention; she had a crest so large that at first I thought she must be a stallion. Desperate for water, she was sweating profusely and had swellings to her abdomen and around her udder. The side of the lorry had rubbed her tail and quarters bald in places, there were no wounds yet, but I knew it was just a matter of time - she still had over 12 hours of travelling ahead of her. Massively overgrown, misshapen and painful feet had to bear the strain of the poor mare’s immense weight. She was quiet and clearly exhausted but as I passed she pushed her nose gently towards me and nuzzled at my hand. She was sweet, trusting and, like all of the other horses there, deserved so much better.

 

 

Day 5

 

The number of horse shipments we saw gradually increased through the week and our final day saw several loaded vehicles. We knew the majority of vehicles had not stopped at the Italian control posts nearby, we desperately hoped that they had stopped to feed and water in Hungary. If not, the horses had been travelled for over eight hours without stopping for food or water. Observations whilst on the road are always difficult and visibility is restricted but each lorry load of horses we saw revealed the same problem, horses packed in tightly with little or no room to move. Some of the larger horses were so cramped they touched metal on all sides. Even if these horses were given the Regulation minimum space allowance they would still not have had the space they required. It can be hard to imagine the suffering that such restricted space can cause, that’s why I urge you to take a few minutes to carry out a simple experiment: Measure out 70cm on the floor and stand in this space. Now imagine a grossly obese heavy horse stallion crammed into a compartment this wide for hours on end in searing heat with no food or water.

Click here to help us gets Hands On against horse cruelty. With your donation today we aim to make even more progress in our fight to drive this barbaric and unnecessary practice off Europe’s roads.