60 000 sheep face weeks of agony on ship from SA to Kuwait

The Al Shuwaikh livestock vessel, destined for Kuwait, has docked in East London and is waiting to load 60 000 sheep.

The sheep are doomed to spend three weeks at sea in squalid conditions, with many dying en route.

The National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) urged government to reconsider allowing the shipment.

The NSPCA detailed the gruesome conditions the sheep were likely to encounter on the ship.

“They will be crammed so tightly that many will not be able to lie down and rest.

“For three weeks, they will stand, with limited access to food and water, and some will have no access at all.

“They will be forced to stand in their own excrement, wearing what are called faecal jackets.”

According to Animals Australia, more than 100 000 litres of urine and faeces accumulate on a trip like this each day the sheep are on board.

This, combined with the Middle East’s high temperatures, would result in the sheep being unable to regulate their body temperatures, which caused them to get heat stroke.

This, the statement read, virtually resulted in sheep being “cooked alive” in oven-like temperatures.

Waste build-up made it dangerous for the sheep to lie down as they risked being buried alive. And ammonia from their excrement often led to respiratory infections, burning eyes and throats.

“All this mixed with disease, overcrowding, pneumonia, motion sickness, physical trauma, injuries and stress creates the perfect environment for excruciating suffering.”

Many would die in transit, it said, while those that survive the journey would face “inhumane handling” before being violently slaughtered.

Carte Blanche screened horrifying footage of the live export trade on Sunday evening. The footage is still doing the rounds on social media.

The NSPCA said it hoped its online petition would encourage government to reconsider letting this shipment go ahead.