Horse abuse in Spain

This is what happens when you cram too many horses into a truck and keep them penned up for too many hours: the terrified animals kick at the side of the truck to try to get free. An animals’ rights group took the video. This is typical treatment in the horse export business says the animal rights group worker, who says the treatment was in direct violation of EU directives. She says the horses are not transported in individual stalls and don’t receive water after eight hours and because the journey is longer than 24 hours, the horses are not unloaded after that time. The typical transport from Spain to southern Italy takes 30-35 hours, and horses have trouble keeping their balance in moving trucks for that long. It’s even harder for horses raised for human consumption because they’re fatter and top heavy. When the horses fall it’s nearly impossible for them to get up. In this video, a worker hits a fallen horse to get up. This man was there and says he’s concerned with the suffering of the animals, not their final destiny and clarifies his stance is not against eating animals. Spanish officials refused to comment and an EU lawyer is studying the case but the people who control the European horsemeat market says there’s no other way to conduct business. He says if the horses aren’t crammed into trucks, they can’t make any money. The animals’ rights organization says the solution should be to slaughter the horses in Spain and then ship the meat. That’s impossible counters this horsemeat exporter who says the meat is too delicate. So until authorities take action, this kind of treatment will continue.