The 52-year-old MV Spiridon II loaded 2901 cattle has been stranded off Turkey, denied permission to unload due to issues with the animals’ ear tag.
According to local media, the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry inspected the cattle when the vessel arrived but denied permission to land the animals because approximately 500 of the ear tags did not match documentation on the ship.
The vessel departed Uruguay on September 19 and arrived at Bandirma Port on October 22. The surviving animals remain stranded on the ship with at least 48 animals dead before the vessel was allowed into port on November 9, possibly to take on fodder and water.
Common issues for death at sea include pneumonia and leg injuries that mean the cattle are unable to stand, eat or drink. “The immediate concern apart from the obvious being trapped in unnatural, uncomfortable, sewerage filled, crowded pens is that they will be experiencing stress, fatigue - which will only be exacerbated if they do or have already run out of fodder and good quality fresh water,” says former live export veterinarian Dr Lynn Simpson.
The Australian veterinary organization Vets Against Live Export says: “The bottom line is these cattle will likely have been hungry ever since leaving Uruguay, and there will be little if any fodder on board now.
“On top of government rejection, no importer is going to want cattle which will have irreversible changes to rumen flora after having little or no feed for 17 days.
“Turkish officials should act immediately to rescue and/or euthanize these animals. This is a total tragedy, again highlighting the inherently risky nature of live export.”
In June 2022, the Spiridon II was loaded with approximately 7,900 bulls and sheep when its engine failed off the coast of Spain.
