Posted on July 18, 2019 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Photos by campaigner friend Val Cameron.
Here is a very brief insight into fairly recent events in England by a Dutch livestock exporter who was exposed for illegal activities back in 2010.
His name is Johannes Onderwater
Johannes Onderwater owns and operates the ‘Joline’ ship (or rather a bathtub – ex Soviet battle tank carrier for use on rivers) which undertakes services carrying livestock between Ramsgate (UK) and Calais (France) – across the English Channel, which is not a river.
Onderwater is a convicted criminal. This conviction was proven by an animal export organisation I was personally involved with back in 2010, in a UK court of law at Folkestone, Kent, when, working in conjunction with Kent Trading Standards (KTS); on 5th July 2010 at Folkestone Magistrates Court, Kent, Onderwater Agneaux BV (Onderwaters company) pleaded guilty to no less than six (6) offences under the Animal Health Act 1981 of causing the transport of sheep in contravention of the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 and EU Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 (Protection of animals during transport).
As a result, Onderwater’s company, Onderwater Agneaux BV (of the Netherlands), was fined at Folkestone a total of £10,370. And so, under UK law, by being prosecuted in this way, and pleading guilty to offences, Onderwater IS a convicted criminal.
As the lead up to this particular court prosecution; Onderwater was shipping live sheep out of Dover port; whilst declaring on paperwork that ‘boxed meat’ only was being shipped. At the time, and it is still the case, Onderwater was using sealed box type trailers for carrying livestock – not your conventional type trailers where you can actually see the animals. These are fully enclosed trailers which to all purposes, look like a typical refrigerated trailer.
Here is a photo of one loading onto the Joline – would you know this trailer is full of live sheep ? – it is.
So here he was exporting live sheep for slaughter out of England via Dover port; whilst declaring on export paperwork he was carrying ‘boxed meat’. It was only by chance and vigilance of the crew of the P&O cross Channel ferry that something suspicious (a smell) was noticed with the trailer. The captain of the ferry was called, the owner of the truck and trailer was forced to open it up; and then all the live sheep were seen rather than the boxed meat as declared on the carnet !
So, it was decided to take Onderwater to court for misleading the authorities and the ferry operator, and for ‘fixing’ the export paperwork; and for animal abuse. As you can read from the start, 5/7/10 was the day we finally got him into court.
In court, Onderwater Agneaux BV (Onderwaters company) pleaded guilty to no less than six (6) offences under the Animal Health Act 1981 (England) of causing the transport of sheep in contravention of the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 and EU Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 (the Protection of animals during transport).
As a result, Onderwater’s company, Onderwater Agneaux BV (of the Netherlands), was fined at Folkestone a total of £10,370. And so, under UK law, by being prosecuted in this way, and pleading guilty to offences, Onderwater became a convicted criminal in the UK.
Cut to this week; mid July 2019; and Onderwater is still exporting live sheep out of England for slaughter at the festival of Eid. Whjy ? – because the Dutch authorities were too lenient on him at the time of the court case – his business is Dutch registered and so only the Dutch authorities can take action; they ‘ticked him off’ but continued to allow him to operate rather than close down the entire operation.
July 2019 – We are now as amazed as we were back in July 2010; that an exporter who pleads guilty in an English court of law to no less than 6 animal welfare offences; including the EU Reg 1/2005 on the transport of live animals; is still operating taking British sheep to mainland Europe for slaughter at Eid.
Is it us or is there a real problem with live animal transporters in the EU ? – we guess that the events in Romania involving 70,000 live sheep this week just go to prove that the EU has not got any grip on the issue of live animal transport.
Posted on July 18, 2019 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
For those of you who want to keep up to date on what is happening in Ireland (EU) regarding live exports; we can suggest that you go to the CIWF Ireland Volunteer Facebook page at:
Here there is lots of news and articles about Irish exports.
You will see that investigations are finding that even after making the sea crossing from Ireland to France; after which calves should immediately go to a control post; some transporters are continuing their journey for at least another 5 hours. Some drivers have informed that the calves they carry have been on the truck for over 32 hours !
This is completely against the EU Regulation to allegedly protect animals during transport – Reg 1/2005. The same is the case with the temperatures for sheep exported from Romania to Kuwait. Is the EU concerned about enforcing its own regulations or not ?
And talking of the sheep exported from Romania; the Al Shuwaikh (Romania-Kuwait) is currently ay anchor off of Port Said in the East Mediterranean (North of Egypt).
We do not know why the vessel is at anchor there at this time – to take on supplies and food for the animals ? – who knows.
We will continue to give position updates as we track the vessel.
Posted on July 18, 2019 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Venus and I are really humbled and very pleased that we are getting some great support for the articles that we are putting out. Almost every day we are having new and additional members signing up to the site who are delivered a new post from us each and every time we do one.
That gives us a real buzz, and despite having to inform of a lot of doom and gloom; we also try to throw in good news articles – to lift spirits and (especially with the petitions) – to bring you good news that shows you are making a difference by adding your name and support to petitions.
There is no doubt about it; the world is watching and peoples attitudes are changing for the better. Hey, it is a long hard fight for justice with some issues, such as live exports; but we know that in the end things will happen for the better – so we carry on.
Be a voice – write, sign petitions, demonstrate; take the action that you consider necessary.
This marks a game-changing victory for the Amazon and a historic precedent for indigenous rights.
The impact here is monumental. With last week’s court ruling, the Ecuadorian government’s attempt to sell 500,000 acres of ancestral Waorani forest to oil companies is indefinitely BLOCKED.
But now is not the time to rest on our laurels, we have to keep the momentum going. The verdict is final but now the Waorani need to make sure the judgment is enforced. Ecuador’s Executive Branch has vowed to continue drilling in the Amazon “no matter what” to pay off mounting debts, so it’s up to all of us to keep up the pressure and turn the verdict into action.
Help us grow this movement by sharing this card and inviting your friends to join the fight
This victory also sets a major legal precedent for the seven other indigenous nations whose 7 million acres of rainforest homelands are STILL ON THE AUCTION BLOCK.
Opportunities to amplify impact at this scale don’t come around all that often. Join us in backing the Amazon’s oldest guardians to protect their way of life, their forest and our shared climate.
For indigenous rights, the Amazon and our planet,
The Waorani and Amazon Frontlines Team
“We called on the world to support us and they did. We told them the government wasn’t listening to us, and hundreds of thousands of people made our voices heard. Thank you to all our friends around the world for joining our fight.”
– Nemonte Nenquimo, Waorani leader.
That’s Worth a Party ! – Madness at Glastonbury (England).
Posted on July 17, 2019 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
MEP Anja Hazekamp calls on the European Commission to launch an infringement procedure against Romania, after the country authorises mass transport of 70.000 sheep from the Port of Midia to the Persian Gulf while temperatures rise above 45 °C. This is in breach with European rules on the protection of animals during transport, which state that inside the vehicle or vessel, temperatures must be maintained below 30 °C during the entire journey.
Over the past couple of days, MEP Hazekamp – as well as European Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis– urged the Romanian authorities not to authorise this particular transport. As Romania ignored their calls, the Kuwaiti vessel ‘Al Shuwaikh’ left the port on Sunday night, carrying tens of thousands of exhausted and mistreated sheep. “This is totally unacceptable! Despite the many warnings, Romania keeps on violating EU rules, allowing all these animals to suffer and perish aboard this monster boat,” says Hazekamp.
Hazekamp visited the Port of Midia last weekend, where she observed horrendous animal abuse during loading. “Sheep were kicked, beaten and attacked with electric poles, but Romanian authorities refused to intervene. Europe can no longer look the other way. Animal welfare rules are being violated systematically. The Commission must act now.”
Total ban on live exports
In addition to the infringement procedure, Hazekamp has been advocating a total ban on live animal exports to non-EU countries.
Is the new President-elect of the Commission committed to making a change for animals?
Ursula von der Leyen will be the next President of the European Commission after a majority of MEPs voted in favour of her appointment tonight. While animals or agriculture weren’t mentioned in her statement addressing the European Parliament today, Eurogroup for Animals did welcome the support she expressed for renewed actions to improve animal welfare during hearings with Parliamentary political groups last week.
Following a question by Petras Auštrevičius at the Renew Europe meeting, she explained that animal welfare is included in the programme related to biodiversity and climate neutrality. She said that it is one of the questions the people of Europe want the European institutions to act upon, and that it is a “noble task to take on.” After a question by Yannick Jadot at the Greens/EfA meeting, she also stated that animal welfare “should be one of the main pillars of the Common Agriculture Policy”.
During her half-hour opening statement today on political guidelines for the next five years, the President-elect said that she would support the de facto right of legislative initiative for the Parliament – which could mean that long-awaited legislative improvements to animal welfare might finally be within reach.
Notably, Frederick Federley MEP (Renew Europe, SE), a Vice President of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals, said that the Parliament has long been asking for a framework law on animal welfare, and that since von der Leyen said that she would support a right of initiative – meaning that she commits to respond to Parliament own-initiative resolutions with draft legislation – they are going to “hold her accountable” for this, and would expect such a proposal to be forthcoming as a result.
“After a decade of legislative stasis, we are pleased to welcome a President of the Commission who is a friend to animals both personally and politically,” said Reineke Hameleers, director of Eurogroup for Animals. “We are encouraged by her statements last week, and look forward to working with herCommission over the next five years to deliver real improvements for animals across our Union and beyond.”
When she is sworn in on November 1st, the Brussels-born German politician – who is a horse, goat and dog-owner – will be the thirteenth President of the Commission and the first woman to hold the position.
Posted on July 17, 2019 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
The murders in the meat industry all have the same goal: to make money with the blood and suffering of the animals. This also applies to most politicians and lobbyists.
A few days ago, a ship with 70,000 (still) living beings has been send from the Romanianport Midia to the Midle East.
The hangmen of the Muslim and Jewish slaughterhouses are a bit different from the hangmen of European slaughterhouses.
To understand this, the following video will help:
“Shot in December 2018in a slaughterhouse in Aveyron, these images show the legal abuse of slaughter without stunning allowed in France by derogation for the Jewish and Muslim cults.
According to the INRA Animal Pain expert report, an animal shot without stunning can remain conscious for up to 11 minutes”.
The meat lobby is located in the individual countries, which are not interested in getting a handle on the transport problem.
Animal transports mean subsidies from Brussels and that is why corrupt politicians are involved in the business (as we see in the case of the 70,000 sheep from Romania to Midle East ).
In Europe we have something called Animal Welfare.
On the paper, we are right at the forefront.
First section-German animal welfare law, § 1
“Nobody is allowed to cause pain or harm to an animal without an acceptable reason”.
For this we -the Europeans- have entrusted to some brain-brillant commissioners the preservation of this law. With our voice and our money.
In recent years, however, we observe a provocative cooperation (man calls it tolerance) of the “competent” commissioners with the animal transport mafia, and especially with countries that, as poor and weak EU partners, the meat business under any circumstances operate because that’s their main financial source. With devastating consequences for the animals.
They try to enforce their own interests and power games, nobody controls them, ( because according to EU, animal welfare is “country thing” ) so their chances of maximizing their profit are very high. Let’s put it this way: they have all the options to live from the animas und from their suffering. And they do it.
And now to the case “Midia”, Romania.
“Nobody is allowed to transport 40-degree-a-day animals without water and food, unless one manages to make millions of them.” says the brain-brilliant Commissioner Andriukaitis a word of power, but finally the EU has learned to respect the law of the strongest, and thus ships the Kuwaiti Transport Mafia(with the permission of the Romanian Minister) the 70,000 animal victimsin countries that do not need to give an “acceptable” reason for the muslim massacre, because they consider animal welfare as unacceptable!
With that, the topic animal welfare law is done!
At least for our continent, it’s not even worth the paper it was written on.
What is it about finally here?
It`s about torment, it’s about deliberate, illegal animal cruelty.
For days in the ship, with pre-programmed and painful death for many animals and with an unimaginable hell for the survivors. That`s about it!
And further, it is about the outrageous hypocrisy of the EU Commissioner, who allows all this, because “who is brutally killed in other cultures, is none of our business”!
Posted on July 17, 2019 by Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)
Livestock ship watch.
We can confirm that the AL SHUWAIKH which is carrying 70,000 live sheep to the Middle East (Kuwait) for Eid ritual slaughter is currently in the Med Sea to the West of Cyprus.
It is currently expected to arrive at Kuwait on Saturday 20th July at around 0700 hrs.
It is travelling at a speed of about 15-16 knots.
It was built in 1986, has a gross tonnage of 18,341, and sails under the flag of Kuwait.
Serbian Animals Voice (SAV) 