Groups Demand Suspension of Russia-U.S. Livestock Trade

By CnAgri2012-09-21 19:17:35 Print

The Animal Welfare Institute and Compassion in World Farming are urging the Russian Federation to suspend imports of cattle by sea from the United States. This request from animal welfare organizations follows an incident in September in which more than 1,000 out of 3,400 breeding dairy cattle from one U.S. shipment died en route to Russia or had to be euthanized upon arrival due to their extremely poor condition.

Initial reports indicate that the incident may have been caused by a breakdown in manure removal and ventilation systems on the Pearl of Para, the vessel transporting the cattle. According to a statement by the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, 178 animals died on board; 59 more died during transport to the farms of destination; 160 died during the quarantine period on the farms; 180 were emergency slaughtered, and another 665 were expected to be emergency slaughtered due to extreme ill health.

The groups claim that another 195 animals were not accepted at port and remained on the vessel to be returned to the United States.