Imagine traveling for more than 30 hours crowded with others into the back seat of a car. Also envision being so uncomfortable you can’t sleep and sweltering in temperatures in the low 90’s with no air conditioning. It sounds like torture doesn’t it?
Sadly, this is the reality for most farmed animals transported long distances, often just to be slaughtered when they reach their final destination.
In August last year, Animal Outlook investigators followed a truck carrying pigs for more than 1,200 miles from Nebraska to California. This journey took around 32 hours and the temperature reached 91 degrees. Not once during these 32 hours were the pigs allowed out of the truck for at least five hours for food, water and rest as required by federal law.
This is not only cruel, but the law is being broken. The Twenty-Eight Hour Law prohibits transporting animals for more than 28 consecutive hours without unloading them for at least five hours to rest and provide them with water and food. This is not a one-off instance of the law being violated. This is a common occurrence.
Transport is stressful and dangerous for animals. They have difficulties regulating their body temperatures in overcrowded, poorly ventilated trucks. Loud noises, motion sickness and dehydration also cause high levels of mental and physical stress. While the truck driver took a ten hour break, the pigs remained crammed in the truck. Our investigators could hear them screaming during the night.
This is not the first time we’ve witnessed animals suffering through long journeys and this law being broken. In 2005 our investigator followed several transport trucks and spoke with drivers who recounted instances of animals dying during transit and said that failure to adhere to the Twenty-Eight Hour Law was a regular occurrence. In 2012 we followed a different transport truck and documented dead pigs dumped on the side of the road after they died in the truck. Sometimes the drivers leave dead bodies in with live pigs for the rest of the trip. Nearly 726,000 pigs die while being transported every year.
We're calling on the USDA and the Department of Justice to enforce this woefully under-enforced law on the basis of our investigation and wherever violations occur. This law is also in desperate need of reform. It’s shameful that the U.S. lags behind other countries in protecting animals in transport. In the EU, the law states that animals must be allowed to rest and be given food and water every eight hours - that’s more than three times as often as in the U.S. The animals still suffer to the same extent no matter where they are located - so why is the U.S. law less compassionate?
As a non-profit organization, Animal Outlook relies on donations from caring, generous people like you. Every dollar matters. Your support makes a world of difference to farmed animals.
