EU asks Greece to intervene for cattle wandering in the Mediterranean

Elbeik, one of the two ships carrying cattle

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08 March 2021The odyssey of the 2,600 cattle that left Spain last December and that for three months have continued to roam the Mediterranean on board two livestock ships is not over yet.

Ships that were unable to dock to land the animals.

The Greek authorities will have to provide assistance and assess the condition of the cattle aboard the

livestock

, which is currently in Crete, after being authorized to anchor on the Greek island over the weekend.

The Elbeik, with the flag of the Republic of Togo, left Tarragona (Spain), carrying 1,776 young cattle on board.

Since December 2020 she has been wandering the Mediterranean along with another livestock ship, the

flying the Lebanese flag, which left Cartagena in Spain and returned to the port of departure of the cattle wandering for three months in the Mediterranean.

The

,

 asks Greece to assist and assess the conditions of cattle on board the Elbeik according to the

-

.

Commissioner Kyriakides spoke on the affair of cattle adrift in the Mediterranean, which were unable to disembark in the ports of destination in Turkey and Libya due to suspected cases of bluetongue, after a petition on the case was discussed in the European Parliament on 24 February . 

The Ciwf asked to take the opportunity to "examine the imminent revision of the rules on animal transport" in an "ambitious" way.

"To put an end to this needless suffering, once and for all, the EU must ban the exports of all animals outside its borders" said Olga Kikou of the CIWF according to which "It is time for livestock not to be treated. as a commodity in the European Union, a region that claims leadership in animal welfare standards. "

Ciwf is in contact with the competent authorities in Brussels, Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy to minimize the suffering of the animals involved.

Karim Allah while wandering around the Mediterranean had escaped the control of the Italian authorities, leaving hastily from the port of Cagliari in front of which she had remained for about two weeks.

At the Sardinian Harbor Master's Office, the boat had not declared that it was carrying live animals but feed, raising more than one perplexity.

The authorities - at the urging of the Animal Welfare Foundation, Animal Equality and Enpa associations represented by the lawyer Manuela Giacomini - were preparing an on-board check, when the ship had suddenly sailed to Spain.

Initially headed for Turkey, the freighter had tried to sell the cargo in Tripoli (Libya) where the cattle had been refused due to the suspected disease. 

The suspicion of the animal rights activists is that the ships, fearing losing their cargo, have tried to sell the animals away from Europe.