A stranded ship carrying nearly 3,000 cattle from Uruguay to Turkey has now been at sea for 55 days, according to the vessel-tracking website MarineTraffic.
charityThe Togo-flagged Spiridon II carrier departed the port of Montevideo, the capital city, on 20 September and arrived outside Bandirma, Turkey, on 22 October, where it took on supplies on 8 November.
But local media said the ship soon returned to sea to drop anchor, after Turkish authorities denied it entry due to discrepancies in cattle ear-tag records.
As such, the vessel has been unable to offload its cargo and remains in the area awaiting clearance, with animal welfare organisations expressing growing concerns about the animals on board.
The Germany-based Animal Welfare Foundation has said that at least 48 cattle have reportedly died.
“It is still unclear what will happen to the cattle, which appear to be pregnant heifers,” the charity said in a statement on its website, calling on Turkish authorities “to immediately unload the animals to prevent further suffering”.
The charity said that 140 of the heifers reportedly gave birth, and that 50 newborn calves were “detected”, but it was unclear if all the calves were alive.
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The whereabouts of the other 90 calves is “unknown,” the charity said.
The charity has said that although the case doesn’t involve EU animals, it has formally appealed to the European Commission to intervene and “take all possible diplomatic and technical steps to enable the immediate unloading of the surviving cattle.”
Even if only animals with proper identification could be unloaded at first, it would ease overcrowding and give the remaining animals improved access to limited resources, the charity said.
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“After the long journey from Uruguay to Turkey, the animals are already weakened. Every further delay means massive suffering,” the charity’s project manager, Dr Maria Boada Saña, said.
The Spiridon II mainly transports animals from South America to the Middle East and no longer has a permit to load animals in European ports, according to the Animal Welfare Foundation.
