SHIP OF SHAME
Sick, dead and dying animals were among 19,000 on way to Iraq
First came the stench. Then a burning in the eyes and nose — the telltale sign of ammonia. Manure everywhere, in the feed troughs and water troughs, in a ship carrying 19,000 cattle.
“We entered the ship around 10pm,” veterinary inspector Bryce Marock told the Sunday Times this week. “Animals were living in this filthy faecal matter, sometimes all over their heads and bodies. They were forced to lie in it.
“We found animals that were dying, which we put out of their misery. And we found dead animals, and moved animals off those dead animals.”
It was a scene unlike any Marock had witnessed in years of inspections, a rare glimpse of conditions aboard a livestock carrier midway through its journey, in this case from Brazil to Iraq.
Less than 24 hours later the Cape Town stopover of the 189m, nine-deck Al Kuwait was international news, prompting huge public interest. Protesters brandished banners above a foreshore highway; pictures of soiled cattle flew across the internet generating terabytes of moral outrage.
By the time the vessel slunk away on Wednesday morning, having taken on a load of fresh fodder and sawdust, it was “the death ship”, trespassing beyond the bounds of civilised behaviour.
But despite the uproar, the Al Kuwait may just be a normal cattle export ship, doing normal cattle export business.
The shipping company, Al Mawashi, denies any wrongdoing, and says the euthanased animals were already on treatment in the ship’s “hospital pen”.
Footage taken by South African inspectors did not amount to proof of animal abuse, according to Al Mawashi representative Hussam Sarhan. “Surely there is an explanation of why these animals were dirty, but I doubt they were suffering,” he said in response to Sunday Times queries.
His version is strongly denied by the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA), which has been fighting Al Mawashi in court since 2019 over livestock transport protocols. The NSPCA said it had spent more than R4.5m to date in its efforts to restrict the scope of livestock exports, including a ban on exports during the northern hemisphere summer.
Live export of farm animals for slaughter has increased worldwide due to the rising demand for meat and certain cultural and religious practices that dictate the time frame and manner of slaughter. However, the practice has also been outlawed by some countries due to animal welfare concerns.
This week the Sunday Times established:
● The Al Kuwait layover was a routine stop to pick up fodder, with Cape Town being more convenient than its normal port of call in Spain;
● With the Al Kuwait barely over the horizon, another cattle carrier — the Murray Express — arrived in East London to load cattle destined for Mauritius. The NSPCA monitored the loading of cattle, which were trucked from Qonce. The ship sailed on Thursday;
● Al Mawashi was in the news last year when it emerged that a manager at one of its feedlots in the Eastern Cape used an angle grinder to remove the horns of 126 rams so they could all be squeezed onto a ship;
● During financial year 2024, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) reported handling 12 livestock carriers in East London, the only port from which livestock exports are permitted; and
● A shipment of almost 50,000 local sheep left East London in June last year, bound for Kuwait. The consignment was originally planned to be closer to 60,000 animals but was reduced after intervention by the NSPCA.
NSPCA executive director Marcelle Meredith this week said sustained efforts to improve animal welfare aboard the vessels appeared to have had little or no impact. “Nothing has changed over the years. Every single shipment is horrendous, without question.”
The lengthy transit time was also unacceptable, Meredith said, with the latest shipment a case in point — the animals endure a month-long voyage before their date with the slaughterhouse.
“Our whole fight is that no animals should go by sea ever — it is archaic. In the early days what we found [aboard ships] was horrendous. Nowadays it is not as bad but it is still bad and unnecessary — they could put those cattle on a cargo plane. I have seen ostriches on a cargo plane being flown to Portugal. The majority of wild animals are flown on cargo planes,” Meredith said.
Meanwhile, the Red Meat Producers’ Organisation this week said it was satisfied that local protocols and enforcement were sufficient to prevent similar cases of animal cruelty on ships departing East London.
The reported unsanitary conditions on Al Kuwait raised biosafety concerns, it said.
“We are concerned about the welfare of the animals on the ship. We recognise the rights of animals as noted in the constitution and believe that all animals should be treated [accordingly]. As primary producers, our animals are our pride and it grieves us to see animals receive poor treatment,” the organisation said.
The TNPA said “veterinarians and animal welfare experts” had conducted an assessment of the welfare of the animals on the Al Kuwait before it set sail from Cape Town.
The Murray Express is a regular caller at East London. “Protocols are in place relating to the accumulation in feedlots, transportation, loading and the handling on board the vessel,” the TNPA said.