Spanish authorities are on the verge of slaughtering hundreds of calves that have been crossing the Mediterranean for months, a lawyer for the livestock skippers said.
The 864 cattle to be slaughtered are aboard the Karim Allah, which was captured in the Spanish port of Cartagena. It is one of two vessels that left Spain in mid-December to deliver live loads of young bulls. The second vessel, Elbeik, loaded nearly 1,800 cattle from Tarragona.
The Elbeik, which now transports more than 1,700 cattle, is apparently also back in Spain.
Both shipments experienced problems when they were rejected by various countries, including Turkey and Libya, because they feared the animals had a disease called bluetongue, which causes lameness and bleeding among cattle but does not affect humans.
The Spanish officials’ illness regulations mean that the cattle will not be able to rejoin the EU after trying to enter Libya. The slaughter order issued by the Guardian to Karim Allah’s administration states that Libya: ‘A ban on the export of animals to the EU due to the existence of, among other things, epizootic diseases that have the greatest impact on livestock, foot and mouth disease in that condition. ”
“The Spanish authorities have indicated that they will start killing the cattle on Tuesday,” said Miquel Masramón, a Talia Shipping Line lawyer. The Karim Allah is owned by Khalifeh Livestock Trading and is managed by Talia Shipping Line, both in Lebanon, while the livestock is owned by a third party.
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The Ministry of Agriculture indicated in a statement on Saturday that if the Karim Allah did not start isolating and slaughtering the animals “according to the applicable regulations”, the ministry would do so.
A source from the ministry said on Sunday that the deliverer had been told that he had to hold the battle until Monday afternoon. The ministry said: “It is first and foremost the shipowner who has to isolate and slaughter the animals. He has tomorrow morning until first thing [Monday] to convey his decision to the administration. ”
Both the director of Talia Shipping Line, Majed Eid, and Masramón said they would fight the decision. Their goal, according to them, is to have the time of the cattle healed and then find a new buyer once the results of bluetongue blood tests were taken last week.
According to a report by Spanish veterinary officials who were aboard the Karim Allah last week, the captain told them of 22 deaths at sea. Another nine cattle were not set off. According to the report, 20 of the animals that were killed were chopped up and thrown overboard during the trip, citing information provided by the captain.
The report concluded that the animals suffered during the long journey and were generally in poor condition. Some were bad and not suitable for transport outside the EU, or suitable for admission within Europe. Euthanasia would be best for their health and well-being, it was concluded.
The report did not say whether the cattle had bluetongue, but took note of other skin, eye and bone conditions, including alopecia, flaking, scabies and arthritis that are compatible with septic arthritis.
Masramón said on Sunday he was trying to get a new veterinary report and hoped to get a veterinarian on board the ship and ‘inspect the animals and respond to the Spanish authority’s veterinary report. The problem now is to [vet] official approval to enter the port. ”
Second vessel returning to Spain
On Saturday, the tracking website Marine Traffic showed the Elbeik on its way back to Spain, destined for Cartagena.
The return of the vessel to Spain was confirmed in an email on Sunday from the chief veterinarian of the Cyprus government, Christodoulos Charalambous Pipis, who is monitoring the Elbeik. Last week, it anchored for a few days off the coast of Northern Cyprus, off the port of Famagusta.
“Our information is that the captain of the ship declared that the ship would return to Spain, and today I was told that it would reach Spain soon,” he said. “My Spanish counterpart has been informed by me from the first moment we received this information.”
Late last week, a source told the Guardian that of the approximately 1,770 loaded animals, about 35 may have died and the rest were in good condition. ‘They are limousine and charolais crosses [bulls], between six and 12 months old, ”the source said.
Representatives of the Karim Allah and Elbeik blamed the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture’s debt for their plight and accused them of an error in the certification of animal health that led port officials to refuse access to the ships.
The source said he was “100% sure” that the cattle on the ship were bluetongue free. ‘There was an error in the Spanish animal health documentation. This is how it all started. They wrote Aragon [as the cattle’s origin]. Aragon has not been free of bluetongue for the past 24 months. ”
According to him, the animals are not from Aragon, but from Zaragoza and Teruel, which are ‘150 km from the focus’. [of the bluetongue areas]”, And meets the requirement to come from a bluetongue-free area.
The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture had earlier told the Guardian that the situation of the ships ‘had nothing to do with the actions of the Spanish government’ and that the livestock came from areas without bluetongue.
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