The live stock ship Al Shuwaikh that departed from Romania with 70.000 sheep on the 14th of July has announced it will arrive two weeks later in the port of Kuwait, leaving the animals stuck onboard in extreme heat. They will now arrive on August the 2nd.

There was already extreme outrage over the departure of the ship and the delay has only made this worse. According to animal welfare organization Eyes on Animals many sheep will die the coming weeks from exhaustion, thirst and stress. The delay doesn’t come as a surprise for them since the route is known to be very busy and Al Shuwaikh should have given honest arrival dates.

Animal welfare organizations and members of the European Commission tried stopping the ship from leaving in these hot temperatures. But Romania ignored every plea to save the animals from extreme suffering and authorized the transport.

And even though the country is violating Art 3 of the EU Regulation (EC) 1/2005 which clearly states that animals shall not be transported in a way likely to cause injury or undue suffering, the European Commission didn’t stop the transport. They have announced an investigation, but for these animals stuck on sea it comes too late.

The animals that are still alive in two weeks, will be slaughtered for the Islamic holiday Eid al-Hadha on the 12th of August.

Very bad news, the Al Shuwaikh livestock vessel with the 70.000 Romanian sheep will only arrive in Kuwait on 2nd August instead of 20th July. By then the animals will have been on board for 20 days in appalling conditions. Disgraceful that the EU is guilty of these practices pic.twitter.com/Fq2ruWm97r — Reineke Hameleers (@ReinekeEG4A) July 19, 2019

Unacceptable! Romania allows mass transport of 70.000 sheep from Port of Midia to Persian Gulf where temperatures rise above 45 °C



"Despite the many warnings, Romania keeps on violating EU rules," @anjahazekamp said whilst calling on infringement procedures against the country. pic.twitter.com/CEbMLNfuaK — The Left in the European Parliament (@GUENGL) July 15, 2019

🇷🇴🚢🐑"In 2018 animals on KLTT vessels were found baking in their own skins, gasping for air, smothered in faeces & unable to lie down to rest or reach food or water."



Ignoring legally binding #AnimalWelfare standards, #Romania is exporting 70,000 sheep➡️https://t.co/pGj6Mro9CR pic.twitter.com/J88Kxowvd8 — Eurogroup For Animals (@Act4AnimalsEU) July 12, 2019

In this video from Eurogroup for Animals you see what extreme heat does to sheep being transported.



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