Transport route - Animals' Angels e.V.

General review report 

HORSE TRANSPORTS 

between EU Member States and 

from Third Countries 

2006 

Detailed reports 

© Animals’ Angels e.V. 

Rehlingstr. 16a * D-79100 Freiburg 

info@animals-angels.de* www.animals-angels.org 

Published in September 2007 

© Copyright Animals’ Angels e.V. September 2007

Table of contents 

I. INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................3 

II. MAIN FINDINGS ..........................................................................................3 

III. CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................5 

IV. DETAILED REPORTS 

Transport route: SPAIN - ITALY 

1. Horses from Spain to Italy, transport company RAWD (IT) 26.01.06 ...................................... 8 

2. Horses from Spain to Italy, transport company Mazas (PT) 27.01.06 ...................................................12 

3. Horses from Spain to Italy, transport company Mazas (PT/ES) 27.01.06 .............................................17 

4. Horses from Spain to Italy, transport company Maitxene (ES) 27.- 28.01.06 .....................................21 

5. Horses from Spain to Italy, transport company Mazas (PT/ES) 26.02.06.................................. 30 

6. Horses from Spain to Italy, transport company Fontana Decimo (IT) 26.-29.07.06 ................ 36 

7. Horses from Spain to Italy, transport company Cutilli (IT) 27.-30.07.06 .................................. 41 

8. Horses from Spain to Italy, transport company Portagero LDA (PT) 28.-31.07.06.................. 45 

9. Horses from Spain to Italy, transport company Maitxene (ES) 29.-30.07.06........................... 55 

10. Horses from Spain to Italy, transport company Mazas (PT) 03.08.06 ................................... 62 

Transport route: FRANCE - ITALY 

11. Horses from France to Italy, transport company Maitxene (ES) 26.-28.07.06 ...................... 73 

Transport route: POLAND - ITALY 

12. Horses from Poland to Italy, transport company Vitali (IT) 27.07.2006...................................................86 

13. Horses from Poland to Italy, transport company VI Poland Sp.zo.o. (PL) 28.07.2006.......................90 

Transport route: ROMANIA - ITALY 

14. Horses from Romania to Italy, transport company Macellari (IT) 01.08.2006........................ 92 

15. Horses from Romania to Italy, transport company Macellari (IT) 02.08.06............................ 97 

Transport route: GREECE - ITALY 

16. Horses from Greece to Italy, transport company Venerito (IT) 20.-21.04.06......................... 99 

page 

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© Copyright Animals’ Angels e.V.

I. INTRODUCTION 

In 2006 Animals’ Angels observed 16 long-distance horse transports originating from European 

Member States and from Third Countries. All 16 transports were found to be in violation of Council 

Directive 91/628/EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29/EC 1 on the protection of animals during 

transport. In most cases also Council Directive 96/93/EC on the certification of animals was violated. 

Out of these 16 transports 10 originated from Spain, 2 from Romania, 2 from Poland, 1 from Greece 

and 1 from France. 2 The destination of all transports was Italy, mainly the region of Puglia 3 . 

All transports were long distance transports. The average distance over which the horses were 

transported was 2.000 km. Horses originating from Spain were transported over the longest distances 

(in one case over more than 2.900 km). 

These transports caused unnecessary suffering and stress to the transported horses. 

II. MAIN FINDINGS 

1. Journey time limits and rest periods not respected 

Legislation requires that horses must be unloaded after a maximum journey time of 24 hours at an 

authorized staging point in order to be rested, fed and watered for at least 24 hours before continuing 

transport. Before the journey starts the transporter must indicate the programmed staging point on the 

route plan. In practice these provisions were found to be largely ignored. In 11 out of the 16 observed 

transports it was evident before the start of the journey that an unloading at a staging point during 

transport was required due to the length of the transport, i.e. it was impossible to complete the 

transport within the maximum allowed journey time of 24 hours; however, in none of these 11 4 cases 

was an unloading at a staging point programmed, i.e. indicated on the route plan. While in 6 cases the 

Animals’ Angels team succeeded to have the horses emergency unloaded at a staging point during 

transport, in the remaining 5 cases transport was continued to destination and thus the maximum 

journey times were exceeded by many hours. 

As well, in 2 out of the 5 transports, where it was not evident before the start of the journey that 

unloading at a staging point would be necessary, maximum journey times of 24 hours were exceeded 

by far. 

2. Exceeded loading density 

Exceeded loading density was observed in 8 out of the 10 transports originating from Spain (between 

27 and 35 horses loaded with an average of 31,3), as well as in the one transport loaded in France (31 

horses). The observed horse transports from Romania (2 transports) and Poland (2 transports) 

respected the required space allowances. 

1 On 05.01.2007 the new Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 came into force. The legal provisions regarding the 

violations mentioned in the present report have, however, not or not significantly changed compared to Council 

Directive 91/628/EEC as amended. 

2 The number of transports originating from certain countries observed by Animals’ Angels is not linked to the 

total number of horse transports from these countries to Italy. 

3 10 out of the 16 transports were destined for the region of Puglia. 

4 Out of these 11 transports, 8 originated from Spain, 2 from Romania and 1 from France. 

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High and exceeded loading densities increased the incidence of falls and injuries and made it more 

difficult or impossible for horses to get up when they had fallen or lied down. Those horses were 

trampled by others, which caused undue suffering to them. 

It should be stressed, that even when the loading densities are respected, horses fall or lie down 

during long-distance transports and can be trampled and injured by others. 

In the observed cases of overcrowded transports the horses were granted even less space than 

required as a MINIMUM by the density table in Chapter VI, section A of the Annex to Council Directive 

91/628/EEC as amended. 

Moreover, the following sentence is written under the table of minimum space requirements in Chapter 

VI, section A of the Annex: “These figures may vary by a maximum of 10% for adult horses and 

ponies and by a maximum of 20% for young horses and foals, depending not only on the horses’ 

weight and size but also on their physical condition, the meteorological conditions and the likely 

journey time.” 

Animals’ Angels believes that it is self-evident that for long-distance transports, even more during the 

hot summer months and in case the horses are of a heavy breed, the word “vary” can only mean 

“increase”, which means that the horses must be granted more space than indicated in the 

legislation’s tables. Unfortunately several transporters and veterinarians misinterpret the legal 

provisions and are of the opinion that it is always justified to reduce space by 10% respectively 20%. 

Furthermore Chapter VI, section A of the Annex to the Directive requires that “During long journeys 

young horses must be able to lie down.” As far as young horses of heavy breeds are concerned, this 

requirement is not met when granting the horses only the minimum space of 1,2 m² per horse 

indicated in the legislations tables. Thus the space should be increased, i.e. fewer horses should be 

loaded. 

3. Animals not correctly separated according to size/age and sex 

Legislation requires that stallions are adequately separated from mares and from each other in order 

to prevent the animals from fighting and from injuring themselves. Furthermore equidae of significantly 

different size/age have to be separated in order to protect the smaller/younger animals from being 

injured by bigger/older ones. 

Animals’ Angels observed 4 transports, where these provisions were ignored. 

4. Unsuitable dividers 

Animals’ Angels repeatedly observed trucks equipped with dividers, which represent a risk for the 

horses’ health. Often there was a huge gap between the bottom of the divider and the floor of the truck 

or the divider consisted of parallel metal bars, between which the horses can remain stuck with their 

legs. Animals’ Angels observed that horses remained stuck under these dividers with their head or the 

whole body. Unable to free themselves they were trampled by other horses. 

Also in a few cases the dividers were not put in place to separate the horses according to their 

number. 

5. Unsuitable drinking devices – insufficient water supply 

In at least 6 cases it must be suspected that the horses were not or not sufficiently watered every 8 

hours during transport. Either the truck was not equipped with a water system, the system was 

insufficient or inadequate for horses or the drivers confirmed to not have watered the horses. 

Trucks, which are not equipped with an automatic water system, make it necessary that the drivers 

insert mobile water troughs in the truck and fill them up manually. In practice this procedure takes 

quite some time and thus drivers tend to avoid it. 

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On the other hand, if trucks are equipped with installed watering devices, not all horses might be 

accustomed to using these devices and thus are unable to drink sufficiently. 

Furthermore dominant horses tend to not let others come close to the water source. Therefore while 

the horses are on board the truck it cannot be guaranteed that each horse has the possibility to drink a 

sufficient quantity of water – independently if the watering devices are installed or mobile. 

6. Negative effects of high temperature 

During the hot summer months we observed in general a higher level of exhaustion and more horses 

falling or lying down and consequently being trampled by others. Also the horse that was found dead 

on board a transport was observed during summer. 

7. Undue suffering caused 

The irregularities described above and particularly a combination of these irregularities led to a 

compromised or poor welfare of the transported horses. 

The negative effects of aspects like high temperatures, insufficient water supply and high loading 

density deteriorated as the journey times got longer. While toward the beginning of the transport the 

animals often appeared to be in acceptable condition, during later points of the transport we observed 

increasing welfare problems, such as horses that had fallen or lied down and ended up being trapped 

under a divider or had difficulties to stand back up and were trampled by others. These problems 

appear to be mainly linked to the increasing level of exhaustion towards the end of the journey. 

One horse was found dead on board a truck and 4 horses were slaughtered after emergency 

unloading during transport. 

III. CONCLUSIONS and RECOMMENDATIONS 

The enforcement of the legislation on the protection of animals during transport is insufficient. 

The transport companies are not motivated to obey legislation as the risk to be properly inspected and 

punished by the authorities prior and after transport is low. 

* * * 

The veterinary checks at the places of departure are insufficient. The competent veterinary services 

have authorized transports, which are contradicting relevant community legislation on the protection of 

animals during transport and on the certification of animals. Most of the observed violations originate 

from the start of the journey and could thus be avoided, if the veterinarians at the places of departure 

carried out proper checks. 

Animals’ Angels recommends that the checks at the places of departure are improved in 

quantity and quality. 

* * * 

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Veterinary checks at the places of destination would also contribute to a better enforcement of the 

legislation. Aside from the conditions of the animals, the loading conditions, the standard of the truck 

and compliance with the permitted journey times could be checked. As inadequate transports do 

repeatedly reach the same places of destination, it must be concluded that either the checks at 

destination are insufficient or the communication of the authorities at the places of destination with 

those at the place of departure and at the places of registration of the transporters are not effective 

enough. 

Animals’ Angels recommends that the checks at the places of destination in Italy are increased 

and that suitable systems are established to notify the competent authorities at the places of 

departure and of registration of the transporters about detected irregularities. 

* * * 

Animals’ Angels is convinced that the most efficient way to improve the protection of horses 

during transport is to drastically reduce journey times. In this way many problems that do 

regularly occur during long distance transport would be avoided or reduced, e.g. exhaustion 

due to insufficient water supply and due to prolonged exposure to high temperatures and falls 

resulting from exhaustion. 

_________________________________________________________________ 6 


Transport route: 

SPAIN - ITALY 

_________________________________________________________________ 7 


Horses from Spain to Italy, 26.01.06 

TRANSPORT OF HORSES FROM SPAIN TO ITALY 

Transport company: RAWD srl. 

26.01.2006 

Date & time of first contact with the lorry: 26.01.2006, 17:30 h 

Place of first contact with lorry: Spain, motorway A 2, between Zaragoza and Barcelona (175 km to 

Barcelona) 

Distance between place of departure and destination is: 2.642 km 5 

I. FACTS / INFORMATION RECEIVED 

1. Dates of Transport Company / lorry / driver(s) 

Name of transport company: RAWD SRL 

Address: via Cadutin 11, 25030 Berlingo, Italy 

Name of Drivers: 2 Croatian Drivers 

License plates: CY-070-CX/ AB - 29450 

Description of the lorry: white cab, grey lorry and trailer 

2. Information from the driver: 

This time he loaded all the horses at the same place. Usually he has to load at 2-4 different places 

and accordingly the horses loaded at the first place are already for hours on the lorry before the 

transport actually starts. 

3. Information taken from the documents: 

3.1. Information taken from the Intracommunity Certificate: 

Number of health certificate: INTRA.ES.2006.0001661 

Local ref.nb: 06/003 

Local competent authority: 113908 Segovia 

Number of animals: 32 horses for slaughter 

Exporter/ Sender: Suministros Agricolos y Ganaderos Agricar 

S.L., 28224 Pozeulo de Alarcon, Spain 

Importer: 2335 Martinese Carni SRL, 

73056 Contrada Santi Lasi, Italy 

Place of origin: Ganaderia Hermanos Redondo SL 

(Nb. of authorisation: ES-40031018), 

Bernuy de Porreros, Spain 

Place of departure: 40190 Bernuy de Porreros, Spain 

Date and time of departure: 26.01.06, 9.00 h 

Destination: 2335 Martinese Carni SRL, 

73056 Contrada Santi Lasi, Italy 

Estimated time of journey: 28 hours 

Veterinary service which issued the documents: 

Sección Agraria Comarcal de Segovia, Junta Castilla y León 

Name of veterinarian: not legible 

3.2. Information on transport taken from the Route plan: 

Transport company: Autotrasporti RAWD SRL 

Number of animals: 32 

Place of departure Ganaderia Hermanos Redondo SL, 

49190 Bernuy de Porreros, Spain 

Date of departure: 26.01.2006 

Time of departure: 9:00 h, corrected into 11:00 h 

5 Acc. to „ADAC Routenplaner“, edition 2005, 2006 

_________________________________________________________________ 8 



Place of destination: 2335 Martinese Carni SRL, 

Contrada Santi Lasi, 73056 Taurisano 


Itinerary: Bernuy, La Jonquera, Ventimiglia, Bologna, 

Taurisano 

Planned unloading / stops: no unloading planned, one stop at 

17700 La Jonquera, Spain, acc. to the route plan on the 

12.01.2006 at 17:00 h 


Sección Agraria Comarcal de Segovia, Junta de Castilla y 

León. 

4. Description of loading situation and condition of the animals: 

Species: young horses 

Levels: 1 level 

Impression of loading density: ok 

Watering devices: no 

Bedding: thick straw bedding, still clean 

Dividers: no divider in the lorry, 1 divider 

in the trailer, inadequate divider for horses, since it has a 

huge gab between the floor and divider 

Ventilation: yes 

Injured animals: no 

Sick animals: no 

Dead animals: no 

Impression of the animals: horses’ coats are covered with faeces 

5. Further observations/ information: 

Description of the route: We followed the lorry on the A2, direction Barcelona, when suddenly at 

app.19.00 h a police car ( Guardia Civil) stopped the lorry. The reason was a broken front light. The 

Guardia Civil was not willing to do anything, said they are not responsible. 

On the 27 th of January, the lorry got stuck on the highway near Nice for 8 hours, because of the bad 

weather conditions and finally arrived in Taurisano on the 28 th after 40 hours of transport. The 

horses were not unloaded during the journey. 

II. VIOLATIONS 

1. Deficient veterinary check at the place of departure in Spain 

The veterinary service at the place of departure in Spain (113908 Segovia) should not have authorized 

this transport by signing the accompanying documents, since the transport contravened existing 

legislation. 

1.1. Regarding the accompanying documents 

The veterinary service at Segovia did not verify the estimated journey time. Given the fact, that the 

distance between the place of departure and the place of destination is 2.642 km (acc. to ADAC route 

planer), the indicated journey time of 28 hours is not realistic. 

Furthermore in the route plan there was a stop indicated on the 12.01.06 at 17.00 h for a transport 

which starts on 26.01.06. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 1, lit.b and lit. c, as well as Art.8, lit. 

d.) of Council directive 91/629/EEC as amended by Council directive 95/29 EC 

Furthermore it constitutes a violation of Council Directive 96/93 EC on the certification of 

animals and animal products. The competent Spanish authority did not all necessary steps to 

ensure the integrity of certification as required in Art. 4 of Council Directive 96/93 EC. 

_________________________________________________________________ 9 



Therefore the obligatory unloading at a staging point was not planed and the route plan not duly drawn 

up regarding journey times and rest periods (see point 3). 

1.2. Regarding inadequate transport conditions. (please see point 2. – 5. ) 


Undue suffering was caused to the animals due to inadequate transport conditions. 

This represents a violation of Art. 5, paragraph 1, lit. b of Council Directive 91/628 EEC as 

amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC. 

3. Obligatory unloading at staging point not planned – Route plan not duly drawn up regarding 

journey times and rest periods 

The route plan did not indicate a staging point, despite the fact that the length of the journey required 

it, after a maximum journey time of 24 hours. 

Further stops to water the horses after 8 hours of travel time were not indicated in the route plan. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 2, lit.b and lit.d, (i) first indent of 

Council directive 91/629/EEC as amended by Council directive 95/29 EC, as well as a violation 

of Art. 3. paragraph 1, lit.aa, second indent of Council directive 91/629/EEC as amended by 

Council directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter VII, point 4, lit. c and Chapter VII, point 5 

of the annex. 

4. Partitions not placed 

For journeys exceeding 8 hours the vehicle has to be equipped with partitions. There was only one 

partition placed in the trailer. 

This constitutes a violation of Art.5, paragraph 1, lit. c of Council Directive 91/629/EEC as 

amended by Council directive 95/29 EC, in connection with Chapter VII, point 3, fifth indent and 

Chapter I, point 2, lit. a. of the annex. 

5. Partition placed which could cause injuries to the animals 

The partition placed in the trailer could cause injuries to the animals since there was a huge gap 

between the divider and the bottom of the trailer. 

This constitutes a violation of Art 5, paragraph 1, lit b Council Directive 91/628 ECC as 

amended by Council Directive 95/29. 

VI. Photo of route plan 

_________________________________________________________________ 10 


Sign. Iris Baumgärtner 


_________________________________________________________________ 11 




Transport company: Transportes MAZAS LDA (Portugal) 

27.01.2006 

Date and time of first observation of truck: 27.01.2006,13:00 o’clock 

Place of first observation of truck: France, near Fréjus, highway A 8 

Note: The highway was blocked by French police due 

to a snow storm in Italy. No truck was allowed to 

continue to Italy from approx. 23:00 o’clock of 

26.01.06 to 16:15 o’clock of 27.01.05. After this the 

trucks gradually continued their journey. 

Outside temperature at this place: 5° Celsius 

Journey time so far: 26h (acc. to drivers this includes 8h of waiting at 

Fréjus) 

Remaining distance to destination: 1.361 6 km 

Distance from place of departure 

to place of destination: 2.565 1 km 

I. FACTS FOUND and INFORMATION RECEIVED 

1. Dates of transport company / lorry / driver(s) 

Name of transport company: Transportes Mazas LDA, registration number: 66372003, 

Address: Edificio Illa Dos Amores- Vilanova de Cerveira, 4920 Campos – Vila 

Nova de Cerveira, Portugal 

Name of driver 1 and 2: unknown 

License plates: Portuguese license plate: 28 AI 98 

Description of the lorry: red cab, silver one-compartment truck 

Measurements of the lorry: Length: 13,30 m, width: 2,50 m (external measurements) 

2. Information on transport given by the driver: 

- arrival at Fréjus on 27.01.06 at 05:00 

- no unloading at staging point programmed; do not intend to unload at staging point 

3. Information on transport taken from the documents: 

3.1 Health certificate no.: INTRA.ES.2006.0001750 


Breed: Hispanobreton 

Age: “various, weaned foals” 

Identification method: none 

Place of origin: Lorenzo Berzal de Francisco, Camino de la Oliva S/N, 

47320 Tudela de Duero (Valladolid), Spain; authorisation 

no. ES47175000002 

Place of loading: 47320 Tudela de Duero, Spain 

Time of departure: 26.01.06, 11:00 o’clock 

Place of destination: Scobel Sud 2 S.r.l., Strada Provinciale Alezio, 73017 

Sannicola, Italy; authorisation no.: M2757HEE 


6 The distances indicated in this report are calculated by using „ADAC RoutenPlaner“, edition 2005/2006 

_________________________________________________________________ 12 


programmed 

staging point 

not indicated 


Sender/ Consigner: Lorenzo Berzal de Francisco, 47320 Tudela de Duero, 

Spain 

Buyer/ Consignee: Scobel Sud 2 S.r.l., Strada Provinciale Alezio, 73017 

Sannicola, Italy 

Veterinary service, which 

issued the documents: 1115708 Valladolid (Spain) 

Number of local reference 

(space I.2.a. of INTRA certificate): 4712601061 

Transport company: Transportes Mazas LDA, Portugal (same details as on 

the route plan) 

3.2 Route plan: 

Transport company: Transportes Mazas LDA, registration number: 66372003; 

address: Edificio Illa Dos Amores- Vilanova de Cerveira, 

4920, Portugal. 


Place of departure: there is no place indicated. In this box it is written 

“Lorenzo Berzal de Francisco”, which is the name of 

the consigner 


Place of destination: Scobel Sud 2 S.r.l., Strada Provinciale Alezio, 73017 

Sannicola, Italy; registration number: M2757HEE 


Programmed staging points: not indicated 

Stops (for watering): “Desconocido, Desconocida, 00137, IT, 26.10.06 

23:00” (note: this is pre-printed) 

Number of health certificate: not indicated 

Veterinary service, which 

stamped the document: there is a stamp on the route plan, but it is not legible 

Itinerary: not indicated 

Name of person responsible 

during transport: there is no name written; in the appropriate box there 

is written a passport number 

_________________________________________________________________ 13 




Species: horses, extremely dirty 

Levels: 1 

Loading density: 1,07 m² per horse (on basis of external measurements of truck) � 

overloaded by at least 4 horses (provided that only young horses were 

loaded; if there were also horses older than two years loaded, the 

overloading increases); not enough room for the horses to lie down 

Watering devices: yes 

Bedding: insufficient and entirely wet and dirty straw 

Hurt animals: not observed 

5. Further observations 

Itinerary: Spain – France – Italy (only road transport) 

The Animals’ Angels team does not trail the truck, but observed it on 27.01.2006 from 13:00 – 16:15 

o’clock while waiting in line on the blocked highway A8 near Fréjus (France). 

27.01.06 

16:15 French police starts to gradually let the blocked trucks continue journey. 

According to the time of departure indicated on the route plan (26.01.06, 11:00) the horses are now 

on board the truck for 29 hours (already 5 hours more than allowed) and consequently 

should be unloaded immediately for the required rest of 24 hours before continuing 

transport. The drivers state, however, that they will go straight to destination – without 

unloading at a staging point. The remaining distance to destination is still 1.361 km. 

6. Arrival at destination 

Date & Time of arrival: unknown 

Given the remaining distance the remaining journey time is approx. 20 hours. 

Information received in March 2006 from the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture: 

The company “Transportes Mazas LDA” is not registered in Portugal (=Member State of 

establishment) for the transport of livestock. 

II. CONCLUSIONS 

1. Deficient veterinary checks at place of departure in Spain 

The veterinary service (1115708 Valladolid) at place of departure in Spain should not have 

authorized this transport by signing the accompanying documents as the transport was not in 

compliance with relevant legislation. 

1.1 Regarding accompanying documents 

The veterinary service in Spain issued and stamped deficient accompanying documents. 

The following irregularities were detected: 

- The company Transportes Mazas LDA was indicated as transport company on both 

the route plan and the INTRA health certificate, even though it does not have an 

authorisation for the transport of livestock (please see point II. 6) 

_________________________________________________________________ 14 



- 

- The veterinary service in Spain did not verify the estimated journey time (please see 

point II.3). By the fact that the veterinary service in Spain stamped a route plan, which 

indicated a non realistic estimated journey time and which did consequently not indicate 

the obligatory unloading at a staging point during transport, it supported a false statement 

made by the transporter. The veterinary service issued, as well, a health certificate with an 

unrealistic estimated journey time; 

- Number of health certificate not indicated on route plan; 

- Itinerary not indicated on route plan; 

- Name of person responsible during transport not indicated on route plan; 

- Place of departure not indicated on route plan. 

This constitutes a violation of Council Directive 96/93/EC on the certification of animals 

and animal products. The competent Spanish authority did not take all necessary steps 

to ensure the integrity of certification as required in Art. 4 of Council Directive 96/93/EC. 

The irregularities found on the route plan also constitute a violation of Art. 5, section A, 

paragraph 2, lit. b, c and lit. d, (i) first indent of Council Directive 91/628 EEC as 


1.2 Regarding exceeded loading density 

It must be presumed that the veterinary service in Spain was either not present during loading 

operations or did not pay the necessary attention to the loading density. (please see point 

II.5). 


The transporter transported the horses in a way, which caused them undue suffering as 

- the truck was overloaded by at least 4 horses 

- the maximum permitted journey time was exceeded. 

This represents a violation of Art. 5, section A, number 1, lit. b of Council Directive 91/628 

EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC. 

3. Obligatory unloading at staging point not planned - Route plan not duly drawn up 

regarding journey times and rest periods 

It was not programmed to unload and rest the horses for at least 24 hours at an authorized staging 

point after a maximum of 24 hours of transport. The indicated estimated journey time of 23 hours 

is entirely unrealistic for a transport of 2.565 km. At the maximum permitted speed of 80 km/h the 

journey time would be 32 hours. The time for stops during transport must be added to this. A 

realistic journey time for this distance (under normal circumstances, without delays due to a 

blocked highway as in this case) is therefore approx. 40 hours. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 2, lit. b and lit. d, first indent of 

Council Directive 91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC, as well as a 

violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. aa, second indent of Council Directive 91/628 EEC as 

amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter VII, point 4, lit. c and 

Chapter VII, point 5 of the Annex. 

4. Exceeded maximum journey time 

It is required that horses be unloaded after a maximum journey time of 24 hours to be rested, fed 

and watered for at least 24 hours before continuing journey. When the Animals’ Angels team 

observed the truck on 27.01.06 at 16:00 the horses had already been on board for 29 hours. 

_________________________________________________________________ 15 



Consequently the maximum journey time was already exceeded by 5 hours. The remaining 

distance to destination was 1.361 km. According to the drivers they planned to continue transport 

directly to destination, without unloading the horses for rest. No programmed staging point was 

indicated on the route plan. Therefore, it is very likely, that the transport was in fact carried out 

directly to destination. Given the remaining distance the remaining journey time was approx. 20 

hours. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 3 paragraph 1, lit. aa, second indent of Council Directive 

91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter VII, point 

4, lit c and point 5 of the Annex. 


The lorry was overloaded by at least 4 horses. There was not enough room for the horses to lie 

down. Considering the length of the transport the space per horse should have been increased 

compared to the minimum requirements as stated in the table of Chapter VI, section A of Directive 

91/628 EEC as amended, and not reduced. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. a, first indent of Council Directive 

91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter I, section 

A, point 2, lit. a and Chapter VI, section A of the Annex. 

6. Transporter carried out transport without authorisation for the transport of livestock 

The company “Transportes Mazas LDA, 4920 Vilanova de Cerveira, Portugal“ was indicated as 

transport company on the route plan, as well as on the INTRA health certificate. This company 

does, however, not have an authorisation for the transport of livestock. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 1, lit. a, ii, of Council Directive 

91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC 

Christine Hafner 

Animals’ Angels 

_________________________________________________________________ 16 




Transport company: MAZAS (Portugal/Spain) 

27.01.2006 

Date and time of first observation of truck: 27.01.2006, 14:40 o’clock 


Note: The highway was blocked by French police due 

to a snow storm in Italy. No truck was allowed to 

continue to Italy from approx. 23:00 o’clock of 

26.01.06 to 16:15 o’clock of 27.01.05. After this the 

trucks gradually continued their journey. 


Journey time so far: 20,5 h (acc. to drivers 10 hours until arrival at Fréjus + 

10,5 h of waiting time at Fréjus) 

Remaining distance to destination: 1.434 7 km 


to place of destination: 2.140 1 km 


1. Dates of transport company / lorry / driver(s) 

Name of transport company: MAZAS (as written on the truck and as confirmed by the drivers) 

Address: the company has two addresses - one in Spain (Ganados Mazás, 

Cumeiro 2, 36590 Vila de Cruces, Pontevedra - Spain) and one in 

Portugal (Transportes Mazas Limitada (LDA), Edificio Illa Dos 

Amores- Vilanova de Cerveira, 4920 Campos – Portugal). Animals’ 

Angels does not know, which address was indicated on the route plan. 

Name of Driver 1 and 2: unknown 

License plates: Spanish license plate: NA 04936 R (red); 

Portuguese license plate: 73 82 XR 

Description of the lorry: red cab with white and red one-compartment truck 


Planned unloading / stops: none 

Others: - they state that they arrived at Fréjus at around 4.00 o’clock on 

27.01.2006 

- do not plan to unload at a staging point during transport even though 

the journey time of 24 hours will be exceeded 


No. of INTRA certificate: INTRA.ES.2006.0001809 


Place of departure: Vilanova de Bellpuig (Spain) 

Time of departure: 26.01.06, 18:00 

Destination: Reggio Calabria (Southern Italy) 

7 Calculation according to ACAC RoutenPlaner, edition 2005/2006 

_________________________________________________________________ 17 



Estimated time of journey: the appropriate field on the route plan is empty. In field no. 11 

(Programmed transfer or staging point) is written 23 hours. Driver 

declares that this is meant to be the estimated journey time. 

Programmed staging point: not indicated 

Veterinary service, 

which issued the documents: Generalitat de Catalunya, Dept. de Agricultura, Ramaderia,Pesca 

Route plan existing: yes 


Species: horses 

Levels: 1 

Impression of loading density: o.k. 

Watering devices: yes (automatic) 

Partitions: One partition placed, consists of vertical and horizontal bars, 

where horses can easily remain stuck with their legs. 

Health condition of animals: seems to be o.k. 


Intinerary: Spain – France – Italy (road transport) 

27.01.06 


Approx. 17:00 

The observed horse truck of the company Mazas continues journey. 

According to the time of departure indicated on the route plan (26.01.06, 18:00) the horses are now 

on board the truck for 23 hours and consequently should be unloaded within the next hour for 

at least 24 hours of rest before journey is continued. The drivers state, however, that they will 

go straight to destination – without unloading at a staging point. The remaining distance to 

destination is still 1.434 km. 

The Animals’ Angels team does no longer follow this truck, because it is decided to trail another, more 

problematic livestock transport, which was also among the trucks waiting on the blocked highway A8. 


Date & Time of arrival: unknown 

With regard to the remaining distance to destination (1.434 km) the remaining transport time is approx. 

22 hours. 



The veterinary service (Pla d’Urgell (Mollerussa, Catalonia)) at place of departure in Spain should 

not have authorized this transport as the transport was not in compliance with relevant legislation. 


The veterinary service in Spain did not verify the estimated journey time (please see point 

II.3). By the fact that the veterinary service in Spain stamped a route plan, which indicated a 

non realistic estimated journey time and which did consequently not indicate the obligatory 

unloading at a staging point during transport, it supported a false statement made by the 

transporter. This constitutes a violation of Council Directive 96/93/EC on the certification 

of animals and animal products. The competent Spanish authority did not take all 

necessary steps to ensure the integrity of certification as required in Art. 4 of Council 

Directive 96/93/EC. 

_________________________________________________________________ 18 



1.4 Regarding unsuitable partition 

It must be presumed that the veterinary service in Spain was either not present during loading 

operations or did not pay the necessary attention. (please see point II.5). 

3. Likely undue suffering / transport in a way, which could cause injury 

The animals were transported in a way, which was likely to cause them undue suffering as the the 

permitted maximum journey time was most probably exceeded by far. 

The animals were transported in a way, which could cause them injury as an unsuitable partition 

was used. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 1, lit. b of Council Directive 

91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC. 





is unrealistic for a transport of 2.140 km. At the maximum permitted speed of 80 km/h the journey 

time would be nearly 27 hours. The time for stops during transport must be added to this. A 

realistic journey time for this distance (under normal circumstances, without delays due to a 

blocked highway as in this case) is therefore at least 32 hours. 





Chapter VII, point 5 of the Annex. 

4. Exceeded maximum journey time very likely 

It is required that horses be unloaded after a maximum journey time of 24 hours to be rested, fed 

and watered for at least 24 hours before continuing journey. When the Animals’ Angels team 

observed the truck on 27.01.06 at 17:00 the horses had already been on board for 23 hours. The 

remaining distance to destination was 1.434 km. According to the drivers they planned to continue 

transport directly to destination, without unloading the horses for rest. No programmed staging 

point was indicated on the route plan. Therefore, it is very likely, that the transport was in fact 

carried out directly to destination. Given the remaining distance the remaining journey time was 

approx. 22 hours. 



4, lit c and point 5 of the Annex. 

_________________________________________________________________ 19 


5. Unsuitable partition installed 


Partitions must be constructed in a way, which must not cause any injuries to the animals. 

The truck was equipped with a partition, which does represent a risk for the animals’ health, as it 

consisted of vertical and horizontal bars, where the horses could easily remain stuck with their 

legs. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 1, lit. c of Council Directive 

91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter I, point 

2, lit. c of the Annex. 

Footage taken: yes 

Unsuitable partition installed in truck 

_________________________________________________________________ 20 


Horses from Spain to Italy, 27.-28.01.2006 


Transport company: MAITXENE (Spain) 

27.-28.01.2006 



Note: The highway was blocked by French police due to 

a snow storm in Italy. No truck was allowed to continue to 

Italy from approx. 23:00 o’clock of 26.01.06 to 16:15 

o’clock of 27.01.05. After this the trucks gradually 

continued their journey. 


Journey time so far: There are two consignments loaded (15+17 horses). 

Regarding the consignment of 15 horses the journey time 

so far is 25 hours (acc. to driver this includes 11 hours of 

waiting at Fréjus); regarding the consignment of 17 

horses the journey time remains unclear (see below). 

Remaining distance to destination: 480 8 km 

Distance from places of departure to 

place of destination: 1.638 1 km (from Ayala via Mallén to Correggio) 


1. Details on transport company / lorry / driver(s) 

Name of transport company: Transportes Maitxene 

Address: 31797 Lozen, Navarra, Spain, Tel: +34-948309205, Fax: +34- 

948305254 

Name of driver (only one): Henry Davila Espinosa 

License plates: Spanish license plates: NA 07225 R / NA 5079 BD 

Description of the lorry: white cab, grey lorry and trailer with brown stripes, brown tailgate with 

white inscription: “MAITXENE, Valle Ulzama, TeL. 0034-609400403, 

609402762”; inscription on right door of cab: “Hnos. Barberena, 

Tel./Fax. 948305146, Lozen (Navarra)”. 

Measurements of the lorry: length of lorry: 7,33 m; length of the trailer: 7,05 m; width: 2,50m 

Surface lorry and trailer: 35,95 m² 



Time of departure: 26.01.06 16:00 (note: this does not correspond to any of the 

accompanying documents) 

Estimated time of journey: 24 hours (under normal circumstances, i.e. without delays due to 

blocked highways as today) 

Planned unloading at 

staging point: none 

Others: - driver states he has been waiting in line on the blocked highway 

since 27.01.06, 02:00 o’clock 

8 Calculation according to ACAC RoutenPlaner, edition 2005/2006 

_________________________________________________________________ 21 




The horses consist of two consignments (17 and 15 horses); there are two INTRA health certificates 

and two route plans, one of which is blank except for the stamp of the veterinary office in Spain and 

the name of the driver. 

Animals` Angels receives copies of both health certificates and route plans. 

3.1) 

Health certificate for 17 horses no.: INTRA.ES.2006.0001667 


Horses destined for: the option “others” is marked, consequently not 

“for slaughter” 

Transport company: Transportes Maitxene, registration no.: ES NA 001, 

address: Senrio de Loren Navara, 31790 Arantzs, 

Spain 

Competent local veterinary office, 

which issued the INTRA certificate: 1139715 Vitoria 

Local reference number 

(box I.2.a of INTRA certificate): es-vi-328 

Sender/ Consigner: Adolfo Otaola, 01013 Ayala, Spain 

Place of origin: Adolfo Otaola, authorisation no.: 010100170003, 

address: Izoria, 01013 Ayala, Spain 

Place of loading: 01013 Ayala (Spain) 

Time of departure: 25.01.06, 18:00 o`clock 

Place of destination: C.A.B. S.r.l., Via Cesis 2, 42015 Correggio, Italy, 

registration number: 11615 

Buyer/ Consignee: C.A.B. S.r.l., Via Cesis 2, 42015 Correggio, Italy 


Route plan: on the health certificate is indicated that there is 

NO route plan 

Age of equines: 15 months 

_________________________________________________________________ 22 



_________________________________________________________________ 23 



Route plan accompanying the 17 horses: 

The route plan is not filled in except for the stamp of the Spanish veterinary office and 

the name of the driver 

Veterinary office in Spain: Arabako Foru Aldundia, Diputacion Foral de Alava, Nekazaritza Saila, 

Abeitzaintzo Zerbitzua, Departamento de Agricultura 

Blank route plan – except for the stamp of the Spanish vet office and the name of the driver 

3.2) 

Health certificate for 15 horses no.: INTRA.ES.2006.0001682 

Number of equines: 15 

Horses destined for: slaughter 

Transport company: Transportes Maitxene, registration no.: ES NA 001, address: 

Alcoz, 31799 Odieta, Spain 

Competent local veterinary office, 

which issued the INTRA cert.: 1103102 Zaragoza 

Local reference number 

(field I.2.a of INTRA certificate): TO38368 

Sender/ Consigner: T Maitxene, S. de Lozen, 2, 31799 Odieta, Spain 

Place of origin: Rocio Navarro Cascan, registration no.: ES 501600000410, 

address: C/Moncayo n.1, 50550 Mallén 

Place of loading: 50550 Mallén (Spain) 

Time of departure: 26.01.06, 12:00 o`clock 

Place of destination: C.A.B. S.r.l., Via Cesis 2, 42015 Correggio, Italy, registration 

number: 11615 

Buyer/ Consignee: Agro Impex, Via Luigi Cadona 2, 34170 Gorizia, Italy 

Estimated time of journey: 0.0 hours 

Route plan: on the health certificate is indicated that there is NO route 

plan 

Age of equines: various 

_________________________________________________________________ 24 



Route plan corresponding to health certificate no.: INTRA.ES.2006.0001682 

Number of equines: 15 

Veterinary office at place of departure: There is a stamp of the vet office Aragón. 

Place of departure: Mallén 

Place of destination: C.A.B. s.r.l., Localita Canolo di Corregio, Via Cesis, 2, 

42015 Reggio Emilia, Italy 

Itinerary: Mallén-Barcelona-Nice-Ventimiglia-Reggio Emilia 

Estimated journey time: 25 hours 

Date and time of departure: 26.01.06, 12:00 o`clock 

Name of person responsible during transport: Henry Davila Espinosa 


Species: equines 

Levels: 1 (it is a double deck truck, constructed for cattle; horses are 

loaded only on bottom deck) 

Impression of loading density: Exceeded. There is not enough room for the horses to lie 

down and horses that fell or laid down, have difficulties to 

stand back up due to the limited space. 

Loading density according to 

taken measurements: exceeded; 1,12m² per horse (35,95m² / 32 horses); truck is 

overloaded by at least 2 horses, as minimum space 

requirement is 1,2m² per young horse. 

Watering devices: yes, automatic 

Bedding: sufficient straw 

Partitions: one partition placed in lorry and one in trailer; the partitions are 

permanently fixed to the roof of the first level 

(=floor of the second level); the truck is 

double deck (constructed for cattle), 

therefore the second level is raised more then 

normal to give the horses more head space; 

consequently also the partitions are raised, 

which creates a huge gap between bottom of 

partitions and floor of truck, in which animals 

can remain stuck with their legs or other 

parts of their body. 

Sick animals: Horses appear to be stressed and exhausted. Horses fall or lie repeatedly down. 

Two horses stuck under a partition. 


Itinerary: Spain – Nice (France) – Ventimiglia (Italy) –Piacenza - Correggio (Italy) (road transport) 

27.01.2006 

12:45 We observe the truck waiting in line on the blocked higway A8, France. 

One young horse is lying down. His head leans against the side wall of the truck. He does not make 

any attempts to get up. He does, however, not appear to be injured. Possibly the horse is just 

resting or cannot get up because space is limited - the legs of the horse are between the legs of the 

other standing horses. Driver is not present. 

_________________________________________________________________ 25 




16:50 The observed horse truck continues journey. We ask the Gendarmes to conduct an 

inspection. 

Police check: 

Place: France, highway A 8, west of pay toll Antibes (near Nice). 

Time: approx. 18:15 – 18:48 

One horse in the lorry is lying with his whole body stuck under the divider. Driver lifts up the 

hydraulic second level, in this way also the divider is lifted up. After approx. 20 minutes the 

gendarme and the driver manage to make the horse stand up by pushing him several times with the 

wooden end of a shovel. No injuries visible. 

Driver is told by gendarmes that this truck can only be used for bovines, not for horses. Gendarmes 

warn driver that it is illegal to travel with a blank route plan. The Gendarmes do not have time to 

issue a fine, as they are busy due to the traffic jam caused by all the blocked trucks. 

18:48 Truck drives off in direction Italy. 

Driver stops for some minutes at one of the next gas stations. Again a horse is lying on the ground, 

this time in the trailer. 

It is extremely dangerous to drive in Italy due to heavy snow falls. 

_________________________________________________________________ 26 


28.01.2006 

00:28 Truck takes exit for Reggio Emilia and follows sings for Correggio. 


01:20 Arrival at a farm near Corregio. 

Now two horses are lying down in the trailer. One manages to get up before unloading starts. 

The other one is lying with his head under a partition and does not manage to stand up. 

During unloading the driver manages to make the horse get back up. The horse has some 

difficulties; after the first try to stand up, it breaks down again, but makes it at the second try. 

Horses appear to be stressed and exhausted, but we do not spot any injured horse. 


Date & Time of unloading at destination: 28.01.06, 01:50 o’clock 

Temperature: -2° Celsius 

Vet present: no vet; there is just a stable worker present 



The veterinary service (1139715 Vitoria, 1103102 Zaragoza) at place of departure in Spain 

should not have authorized this transport as it was not in compliance with relevant legislation. 


The veterinary services in Spain issued and stamped deficient accompanying documents. 


- the route plan accompanying the consignment of 17 horses (no.: 

INTRA.ES.2006.0001667) was not filled in. There was only the stamp of the veterinary 

service Alava (region Vitoria) and the name of the driver written on it. It is not known to 

Animals’ Angels, if the veterinary service itself stamped a blank route plan or if the 

transport company illegally got hold of the stamp. In any case, the veterinary service 

(1139715 Vitoria) should not have drawn up the health certificate, because no duly drawn 

up route plan was submitted by the transporter. 

- on both health certificate it was indicated that there was no route plan, even though a 

route plan was required 

- on the health certificate no. INTRA.ES.2006.0001682 issued by the veterinary service 

1103102 Zaragoza the estimated journey time is indicated with 0.0 hours. 

This constitutes a violation of Council Directive 96/93/EC on the certification of animals 

and animal products. The competent Spanish authority did not take all necessary steps 

to ensure the integrity of certification as required in Art. 4 of Council Directive 96/93/EC. 

The irregularities found regarding the blank route plan additionally constitute a violation of Art. 

5, section A, paragraph 2, lit. b, c and lit. d of Council Directive 91/628 EEC as amended 

by Council Directive 95/29 EC. 

1.2 Regarding exceeded loading density and construction of truck 

It must be presumed that the veterinary services in Spain were either not present during 

loading operations or did not pay the necessary attention to loading density and the 

construction of the truck. (please see points II.4, 5 and 6). 

_________________________________________________________________ 27 




The transporter transported the horses in a way which caused them undue suffering as 

- the maximum permitted journey time was exceeded by far 

- unsuitable partitions were installed, which caused suffering to the animals, as they remained 

stuck in the gap between the bottom of the partitions and the floor of the truck 

- the maximum loading density was exceeded. 




The transporter did not unload the horses after the maximum journey time of 24 hours at an 

authorized staging point for the required rest period of at least 24 hours. 

The 15 horses (INTRA.ES.2006.0001682) from Mallén (Spain) were unloaded after 38 hours of 

transport. 

Regarding the 17 horses from Ayala (Spain) it remains unclear for how long they have been 

transported. With regard to the date and time of departure indicated on the INTRA health 

certificate the horses were transported for 56 hours. This appears, however, improbable, because 

even though the horses were exhausted, they did not make the impression to have travelled for 

such a long period of time. Possibly those horses were first transported from Ayala to Mallén, were 

unloaded and later loaded again together with the 15 horses from Mallén. 



4, lit. c and point 5 of the Annex. 


According to calculation the truck was overloaded by two horses. In consideration of the length of 

the journey the legally required minimum loading densities should have been reduced, not 

increased. There was not enough room for the horses to lie down and horses that had laid or 

fallen down, had difficulties to stand back up due to the limited space. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. aa, first indent of Council Directive 

91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter VI, 

section A of the Annex. 

5. Inadequate partitions installed 


The truck was equipped with partitions, which represented a risk for the animals’ health, as there 

was gap between the bottom of the partitions and the floor of the truck, where animals can – and 

did in fact – remain stuck. 


91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter I, point 

2, lit. c of the Annex. 

6. Equines loaded on a truck with more than one deck 

This represents a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. a, first indent of Council Directive 


A, point 2, lit. h of the Annex. 

_________________________________________________________________ 28 


7. Mingling of animals of different health status 


Horses “for slaughter” were transported in the same vehicle with other horses. 

This endangered the health status of the horses of the higher health category. 

Horse squeezed between two others 


Animals’ Angels 

_________________________________________________________________ 29 



TRANSPORT OF HORSES 

FROM NAVARRA (SPAIN) TO SICILY (ITALY) 

Transport company MAZAS (Spain/Portugal) 

26.02.2006 

Date & time of first contact with the lorry: 26.02.06; 15.05 h 

Place of first contact with lorry: parking lot on A 12, shortly after Genoa, Italy 

Outside temperature at this place: 12°C 

Total distance from place of departure to place of destination: 2.553 km 9 



Name of transport company: Ganados Mazas, Cumeiro – Vila de Cruces, Pontevedra, Spain, 

T +34 986 78 76 28; F +34 986 58 23 09, mobile 629 83 50 19 

Name of Driver 1: unknown (Brazilian) 

Name of Driver 2: unknown (Brazilian) 

Licence plates: R 0365 BBW / 3455 DVJ; 

Description of the lorry: silver one-compartment truck with gooseneck, type Pezzaioli, red 

tailgate; white IVECO cab with red inscription “Orlando” on the front, 

inscription on left door of cab “ Ganados Mazas, Cumeiro – Vila de 

Cruces, TLF 629 83 50 19 (Pontevedra); 

Measurements of the lorry: according to stickers on the lorry: 32 m² for deck 1-3; 


2.1. Route plan 

Transport company: Transportes Mazas Lda, Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal, 

C.I.F. P -506603997 

Vehicle: lorry 3455 DVJ; R – 3455 BBW and 8678 XR; R – 2339 BBJ 

Species: equines 


Place of departure: Tajonar (Navarra) 

Itinerary: Tajonar, La Jonquera, Ventimiglia, Firenze; Roma, Napoli; Santa 

Agata li Battiati 


Health certificate number: INTRA.ES.2006.0004259 (24.02.06) 

Stamp of veterinary service: Gobierno de Navarra, Sección Sanidad Animal 

Date and time of departure: 25.02.06; 23.30 

Person responsible during transport: Jose Da Rocha; Edson … unreadable. 

Staging point: no staging point programmed. 

Stops: stop of 1 hour, 26.02.06, 10 h, place unreadable; stop of 8 hours, 

26.02.06; 22 h, place unreadable. 

Signature of driver: yes 

9 According to „ADAC Routenplaner“, edition 2005/2006 

_________________________________________________________________ 30 



2.2. INTRA 

Sender: Equipirenaica, S.Coop., Ctra. Tarragona - S. Sebastian, km. 134; 

22500 Binefar, Spain 

Consignee: Orazio Cucé; Contrada Caramma, 95030 Sant Agata li Battiati, 

Catania, Italy (number of authorization: 045-CT-001) 

Veterinary service responsible: ES34014 Pamplona, Navarra 

Place of origin: Ganados Oromar, sl., 31192, Aranguren, Tajonar (number of 

authorization: ES310230000100) 

Place of loading: 31192 Aranguren 

Date and time of departure: 25.02.06; 9.00 h 

Vehicle: 8678 XR; R-2339 BBJ 

Transport company: Transportes Mazas Lda., Number of Authorisation: 66372003; 

Edificio Ilha dos Amores; Vilanova de Cerveira, 4920 

Campos_Vilanova de Cerveira, Portugal. 

Number of animals: printed: 1.0, written by hand 30 


Route plan: route plan “yes” is written by hand. 

Identification of the animals: 30 foals with description 

Signing veterinary: Maria Concepción San Martín Casi 

2.3 CMR 

Transport company: Ganados Mazas, s.l., C.I.F. B – 36.256.147, Polígono Industrial 

“Lalin 2000”, Ciudad del Transporte, Parcela B – 5; 36500 Lalín, 

Pontevedra, T 986 – 78 76 28; F 986 78 76 31; 


Place and date of taking over the goods: Tajonar: 25.02.06 


Species: Young horses, heavy breed 

Condition of the animals: The horses seem to be tired. Almost all the animals have their head 

hanging down. The horses are extremely dirty. 

Levels: Two levels but the horses are only loaded on one deck. 

Impression of loading density: Not all horses have space to lie down. 

Loading density according 

indication (sticker) on the lorry: 32m² /: 1,2 = 26,66. = 26 young horses (up to 2 years) can be 

loaded on the lorry. 

Watering devices: The lorry is equipped with watering devices for cattle. They are 

turned off and several “bowls” are closed. 

Bedding: Insufficient and extremely dirty bedding. On the second level 

there is also dirty bedding (faeces). There is a strong smell of 

ammonia. 

Dividers: One divider in main body of the lorry (gap of approx. 25 cm between 

bottom of divider and floor, photo) and separation between 

gooseneck and main body 

Height/ Headspace: The headspace in the gooseneck is sufficient. In the main body the 

headspace is insufficient. Several horses touch the ceiling 

permanently. All horses are hindered from standing in their 

natural position since they cannot raise their heads without 

hitting the ceiling. 


Temperature inside the lorry: --- 

Hurt animals: one horse has a swollen eye. The eye is completely closed. There 

are scratches around the eye. 

Sick animals: ---- 

Dead animals: ---- 

_________________________________________________________________ 31 



Gap between bottom of divider and floor extremely dirty bedding 

5. Information given by the drivers: 

- According to the drivers the time of departure was the 25.02.06 at 18.00 h. 

- According to the drivers the horses were not watered during the journey. 

6. What happened: 

The lorry takes highway A11 in direction of Florence. 

17:40 h: At Florence the lorry takes highway A1 in direction of Rome. 

18:00 h: We call police “Polizia Autostradale Arezzo”. 

18:38 h: The Police stop truck at a gas station shortly before exit for Arezzo. 

19:30 h: The lorry leaves gas station and is escorted by police to their headquarters (at exit Arezzo). 

19:52 h: Arrival at police headquarters. 

The police check on the documents and on the horses on the lorry. They also check if there are more 

animals or goods loaded on the second deck. According to the officer who checked on the situation on 

the second deck there were not any animals or goods but dirty bedding. 

The police find out that according to the discs of the drivers the time of departure must have been 

25.02.06 at 10.00 h. Therefore at the time when police stopped them the journey has already 

lasted 32.5 hours. Consequently the allowed maximum journey time of 24 hours is already 

exceeded by 8.5 hours and the horses are still 978 km away from destination. 

The police give order to unload the horses at the nearest staging point (CE 12/PS, La Posta, 

Carlo Caponi, Autotrasporti, Passaggio di Bettona, Perugia) and issue a fine of Euro 3.098,00. 

22:20 h (5°Celsius): Arrival at staging point “La Posta”. The horses are unloaded. All horses seem to 

be o.k. Exiting the lorry a lot of horses raise their heads and hit the second deck. 

_________________________________________________________________ 32 


Horses hitting their heads on the second deck 

Horses unloaded at the staging point “La Posta”, Bettona 

II. VIOLATIONS: 


1. Deficient veterinary checks at place of departure in Spain and deficient accompanying 

documents 

The veterinary service (ES34014 Pamplona) at place of departure in Spain should not have 

authorized this transport by signing the accompanying documents as the transport contravened 

existing legislation. 

1.1. Regarding accompanying documents 

The veterinary service in Spain issued and signed deficient accompanying documents. 


- The Spanish veterinary service did not verify the estimated journey time. (see point 3) 

_________________________________________________________________ 33 



- Obligatory unloading at a staging point not planned - Route plan not duly drawn up (see 

point 3) 

- Both certificates (route plan and “INTRA” ) indicated that 30 horses were loaded onto the lorry. 

( in this case the lorry would have been overloaded with 4 horses) 

- On both certificates two different times of departure were indicated 

- The license plates indicated on the documents did not correspond to the license plate of the 

lorry on which the horses were transported. 

This constitutes a violation of Council Directive 96/93/EC on the certification of animals and 

animal products. 

The irregularities found on the route plan (see point 3) also constitute a violation of Art. 5, 

section A, paragraph 2, lit. b, c and lit. d, (i) first indent of Council Directive 91/628 EEC as 


Furthermore an unauthorized transport company was indicated on the accompanying documents. 

On both certificates the wrong address of the transport company was indicated since the 

Portuguese company “Mazas” has no authorization to transport live animals. 

This represents a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 1, lit. a.) i.) of Council Directive 

91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC. Furthermore it represents a 

violation of Council Directive 96/93 EC. 

1. 2. Regarding inadequate transport conditions (See point 2. -3. and 6. - 10.) 

2. Undue suffering caused and transportation in a way which could cause injuries to the 

animals 

Undue suffering was caused to the horses due to inadequate transport conditions. 







is unrealistic for a transport of 2,553 km (Aranguren – Sant Agata li Battiati, via La Jonquera). If 

going constantly at the maximum allowed speed of 80 km/h this transport would take 32 hours; to 

this time the stops for watering the horses and the breaks for the drivers must be added. 





Chapter VII, point 5 of the annex. 

4. Exceeded journey times 

The transporter did not unload the horses after the maximum journey time of 24 hours at an 

authorized staging point for the required rest period of at least 24 hours. When the horses – after 

the intervention of the Animals’ Angels team – were unloaded at the staging point, they had 

already been on board the truck for 36.5 hours. 

_________________________________________________________________ 34 




91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with 

Chapter VII, point 4, lit c and point 5 of the annex. 

5. Horses not watered after 8 hours of transportation 

According to the drivers the horses were not watered after 8 hours of transportation. 


91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with 

Chapter VII, point 4, lit c. 


On health certificate and route plan 30 horses are indicated. On the CMR (International 

consignment note) 27 horses are indicated and indeed there are 27 loaded. Acc. to table in 

legislation the truck is overloaded by one horse only (32:1.2 = 26,666). Considering the length of 

the journey the horses should have been granted more space. Certainly the space was insufficient 

for all animals to lie down. 



section A of the annex. 

7. Insufficient head space 

For several horses the ceiling height was insufficient. This prevented the animals from moving 

naturally. 



A, point 2, lit. b of the annex. 

8. Equines loaded on a lorry with more then one deck 



A, point 2, lit. h of the annex. 

9. Insufficient bedding 



A, point 5 of the annex. 

10. Partition placed which could cause injuries to the animals 

Inside the lorry a partition was placed which could cause injuries to the animals. 

This constitutes a violation of Art 3, number 1, lit a Council Directive 91/628 ECC as 

amended by Council Directive 95/29 in connection with Chapter 1, section A number 2 lit. c 

of the Annex. 

Julia Havenstein 

Animals Angels e.V. 

_________________________________________________________________ 35 


Horses from Spain to Italy, 26. – 29.07.2006 


26 th – 29 th July 2006 

Transport Company: Fontana Decimo, Italy 

Animals’ Angels Team: Lesley Moffat, Julia Havenstein, volunteer 

Date & time of first contact with the lorry: 26 th July 2006, 18:35 h 

Place of first contact with lorry: Restaurant Cabane Bambou on the N113, near Arles 

Outside temperature at place of first contact with lorry: 36°C 

Total distance from place of loading to destination: 2.209.5 km 10 


1. Dates of Transport Company / Lorry / Driver 

Name of transport company: “Fontana Decimo” 

Name of driver: Decimo 

Licence plates: BK 620 SB; AB 72643 

Description of the lorry: One compartment lorry, red with yellow stripes. Cab white. No inscription, 

two little white horses on the flap. 


2.1. Route plan: 

Transport company: Fontana Decimo, via Bandi 44, 36056 Tezze sul Brenta (VI), T/ F +39 0424 

89187 

Species: foals 

Number: 30 

Place of departure: Sauro de Vilanova (note this is a company name not a place 11 ) 

Destination: Lecce (the exact place of destination is Seclí) 

Health certificate number: INTRA.ES2006.0016602 

Date and time of departure: 26.07.06 / 13.00 h 

Estimated journey time: missing 

Stamp: The route plan has the stamp of the vet service Castelló. 

Programmed staging point: no staging point programmed. 

INTRA: 

Sender: Sauro Vilanova s.l., Partida Travesses s/n, 18123 Vilanova d’ Alcolea. 

Loading place: 12183 Vilanova d’ Alcolea 

10 According to Marco Polo Route planer from Vilanova d’ Alcaleo (ES) to Seclí (I) is 2.209.5 km 

11 Remarks by the author of the report are written cursively. 

_________________________________________________________________ 36 

© Copyright Animals’ Angels e.V. 

Distance from 

place of 

loading: 

2.209,5 km


Importer: F.lli Greco srl, v. A Diaz 39, 73050 Seclí 

Destination: F Greco srl. Zona Industriale Seclí (authorization Nr. 2065/M) 

Health certificate number: INTRA.ES.2006.0016602 

Local reference number: ES1203UE06012 

Competent authority: ES37017 Castellón (Comunidad Valenciana) 

Veterinarian responsible: Maria Carmen Marin Martinez 

Transporter: Autotrasporti Fontana Decimo, c.s.n.c. (Authorization nr. 01705400248) 


Box I.30: Route plan not necessary. 

3. Information given by the driver: 

30 young horses are loaded 

He loaded at 13.00 h near Tarragona 



Condition of the animals: the horses seem to be in satisfactory condition 

Levels: 1 

Impression of loading density: too high 

Loading density according to taken measurements: 

1. Compartment: 5.6 m x 2.5 = 14m² → 14m²/: 1,2 m² = space for 11 horses 

2. Compartment 7.9 m x 2.5= 19,75m² → 19,75m²/1,2 m² = space for 16 horses 

According to our measurements the lorry is overloaded by 3 horses as it has only a loading capacity of 

27 horses. 

Watering devices: the driver has foldable attachable buckets 

Bedding: straw 

Dividers: 1 divider placed 

Height/ Headspace: OK 


Temperature inside the lorry: 

Hurt animals: we don’t observe any hurt animal 

Sick animals: we don’t observe any sick animal 

Dead animals: we don’t observe any dead animal 


18.35 h: The lorry arrives at the parking lot of the Restaurant La Cabane Bambou on the N-113 near 

Arles in France. 

21.00 h: The driver waters the horses and than continues the journey to Italy. 

Thursday, 27 th July 2006 

6.41 h: The truck passes the gas station Imperia Ovest ( A10/Italy) 

7.33 h The lorry stops near Fogliano sud ( A10/Italy). The driver claims that he will make a reservation 

for the staging point at Perugia. 

Approx. half an hour later the driver stops again to tell us that he made a reservation for the staging 

point at Piacenza. The lorry drives in direction of Piacenza. 

11.00 h, 30.5 ° C: The horses are unloaded at the staging point of Piacenza (Euroitalia S.p.A. Loc. 

Zappellazzo, I – Carpaneto Piacentino (Cadeo) (PC). The horses are supplied with hay and water. All 

animals seem to be in satisfactory condition. 

According the information of the management of the staging point the lorry left the staging point to 

continue the journey to Seclí on Friday the 28 th at 11.30 h with all the 30 horses. 

From the staging point to Seclí it is still 983 km. So it can be supposed that the lorry arrived at Seclí in 

the early morning of the 29 th of July. 

_________________________________________________________________ 37 


II. CONCLUSIONS: 

A. Responsibility of the official veterinarian at the place of departure 


Deficient veterinary check regarding the accompanying documents at the place of 

departure in Spain 

The veterinary service at the place of departure in Spain (ES37017 Castellón (Comunidad 

Valenciana)) should not have authorized this transport by signing the accompanying documents 

since the transport contravened existing legislation. 

1. The veterinary service at the place of departure in Spain (ES37017 Castellón) did not make 

sure that the route plan was duly drawn up. 

a. On the route plan the estimated journey time was missing. 

b. No staging point has been programmed for a journey of 2.209,5 km. 

c. The name of the person responsible during the journey was missing 

d. The signature of the transporter was missing. 

2. Furthermore the veterinary service did not make sure that the Intra communitarian certificate was 

filled in correctly. For the transport from Spain to Italy the estimated journey time of 12 hours was 

indicated and there was “no route plan” indicated. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 2, lit. b. and c of Council Directive 

91/628 ECC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC, which requires the route plan to be 

duly drawn up and it constitutes a violation of Art. 8, lit. d.) of Council directive 91/629/EEC 

as amended by Council directive 95/29 EC 

Furthermore it represents a violation of Council Directive 96/93EC on the certification of 

animals and animal products. The competent Spanish authority did not take the necessary 

steps to ensure the integrity of certification as required in Art. 4 of Council Directive 

96/93EC. This is regarding the route plan and regarding the INTRA. 

B. Responsibility of the transporter 


Undue suffering was caused to the animals due to the overloading by 3 horses. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, paragraph 1, lit. b of Council Directive 91/628 EEC as 


2. Obligatory unloading at a staging point not planned. Route plan not duly drawn up 

regarding journey times and rest periods. 

See above A. 1. 


The lorry was overloaded by at least 3 horses. (in consideration of the high temperatures the 

loading density should have been further decreased. ) 



section A of the annex. 

_________________________________________________________________ 38 


C. Responsibility of the veterinarian responsible at the staging point 


The veterinary service responsible at the staging point (A.U.S.L. Piacenza) should not have authorized 

the continuation of the journey with all 30 horses. With 30 horses onboard the lorry was overloaded by 

3 horses contravening existing legislation constituting a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. aa, first 

indent of Council Directive 91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with 

Chapter VI, section A of the annex. 

Signed: 



Annex: 

1. copy of route plan 

2. copy of INTRA 

Annex 1: 

_________________________________________________________________ 39 


Annex 2: 


_________________________________________________________________ 40 




27 th – 30 th July 2006 

Transport Company: Cutilli 


Date & time of first contact with the lorry: 28 th July 2006, 20.40 h 

Place of first contact with lorry: A 10, Italy, parking lot near Savona 

Outside temperature at place of first contact with lorry: 24,5 °C 

Total distance from place of loading to destination: 2.418,3 km 12 


Distance from 

place of 

loading: 

2.418,3 km 


Name of transport company: Cutilli Romeo & C. s.n.c., C. Collevecchio 5, 65019 Pianella, PE 

Name of driver: Agostino Luchiano 

Licence plates: Italian license plates CK 359 NB, AA48958 

Description of the lorry: One compartment lorry, grey with red stripes, cab golden. Inscription on the 

cab: Cutilli 


2.1. Route plan: 

Transporter: BRISSCL. Cutilli Romeo & C.S.N.C., Cra. Collevecchio 15, 65019 Italia 

Signature of the transporter: missing 


Place of departure: SAT San Felices, ES 

Place of destination: ITG00015445, Cobec SRL, viale Cotrino, 72100 Latiano, Italia 


Date and time of departure: 27.07.06, 20.00 h (printed), 23:15 h is written by hand 

Itinerary: missing 


Stamp: Veterinary service La Rioja, San Roman de Cameros 

Person responsible during transport: Luchiano Agostino 

Planned staging point: on the route plan it is not indicated that a staging is planned. 

12 According to Marco Polo route planer from San Felices to Latiano via La Jonquera is 2.418,3 km 

_________________________________________________________________ 41 



Stops: the place of departure: SAT 26133 San Felices, c/ Plaza, ES, Date and Time: 27.07.06/ 20:00 

h is indicated. Furthermore several stops for watering the horses are indicated, written by hand. 


When we first meet the driver he claims that he will unload at the staging point at Piacenza. 


Species: Horses, apparently around 1 year old foals. The horses are small and thin. 

Condition of the animals: The horses seem to be in satisfactory condition 

Levels: 1 

Impression of loading density: The loading density looks OK 

Loading density according to measurements taken: The front compartment measures 7,1 m x 2,5 

m and the back compartment 6,4 m x 2,5 m. According to the driver 18 horses are loaded in the front 

compartment and 17 in the back compartment. According to our measurements only 14 young horses 

fit in the front compartment and in the back only 13. So the lorry is overloaded by 8 horses. 

Watering devices: The driver has foldable attachable buckets. 

Bedding: Straw 

Dividers: 1 divider placed 



Temperature inside the lorry: unknown 





Friday, 28 th July 2006 

20:40 h, 24.5°C: The lorry stops at a parking lot on the A 10 near Savona, Italy. 

We talk to the driver. He says he left the place of departure on the 27 th at 23.15. He claims that he will 

unload at the staging point in Piacenza. Since there is no staging point indicated on the route plan and 

since there is an estimated journey time of 24 hours indicated on the route plan we decide to follow 

the lorry to make sure that the horses will be unloaded. 

21:10 h: He takes the A 26 in direction of Alessandria. 

21.25 h: He stops at the gas station “Turchino est” for a coffee break. 

23:10 h: The transport arrives at the staging point Euroitalia S.p.A, Loc. Zappellazzo, I – Carpaneto 

Piacentino, PC. 

23.30 h, 22°C: The unloading is terminated. All horses seem to be in satisfactory condition. As we 

observed before the horses are small and thin. All seem to be foals under two years. 

There is water and hay available for the horses. All pens have bedding. 

Saturday, 29 th July 2006 

According to the information of the official veterinarian responsible at the staging, Dr. Lanza ( A.U.S.L. 

Piacenza) the horses were reloaded after approx. 24 hours (29.07.06, 23.00 h) to continue the journey 

to Latiano. He authorized the reloading of all 35 horses onto the same lorry in spite of the overloading 

with the argument that the horses were small and that there was no serious animal welfare threat. 

From Carpaneto Piacentino to Latiano it is still 940 km. So we suppose that the lorry arrived at 

Latiano the earliest on the 30 th July around noon. 

_________________________________________________________________ 42 



A. Responsibility of the official veterinarian at the place of departure: 


I. Deficient veterinary check regarding the accompanying documents at the place of departure 

in Spain 

The veterinary service at the place of departure in Spain (OCA de San I, 26133 San Roman de 

Cameros, La Rioja) should not have authorized this transport by signing the accompanying documents 


1. The veterinary service at the place of departure in Spain (OCA de San I, 26133 San Roman de 

Cameros, La Rioja) did not make sure that the route plan was duly drawn up. 

a. The planning of the journey was unrealistic. The lorry could not reach the destination in 24 

hours. 

b. No staging point has been programmed for a journey of 2.418,3 km. 

The total distance from San Felices to Latiano is 2.418,3 km. Going non stop at 80km/h the 

lorry could reach Latiano in 30.2 hours. 

However in order to calculate the journey time realistically: 

aa. The time for necessary stops for the driver has to be added and it should be taken into 

consideration that even with two drivers the lorry cannot be driven longer then 20 hours without break 

of 8 hours (Regulation EC 3820/85) 

bb. The time for filling in the water tanks and the obligatory stops for watering the horses have to be 

added 

cc. Situations of dense traffic have to be taken into consideration. 

Furthermore on the route plan the itinerary was not indicated and the signature of the transporter was 

missing. 


91/628 ECC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC, which requires the route plan to be duly 

drawn up and it constitutes a violation of Art. 8, lit. d.) of Council directive 91/628 EEC as 

amended by Council directive 95/29 EC 

Furthermore it represents a violation of Council Directive 96/93 EC on the certification of 


steps to ensure the integrity of certification as required in Art. 4 of Council Directive 96/93 EC. 

II. Deficient veterinary check regarding the exceeded loading density: 

The official veterinarian at the place of departure in Spain should not have authorised the transport for 

35 horses as with 35 horses the loading density was exceeded contravening the current legislation. 

The lorry used had the standard size of 13,5 m x 2,5 m. The lorry had a loading capacity of 27 young 

horses up to 24 months. 

B. Responsibility of the transporter: 


Undue suffering was caused to the animals due to the overloading. 



_________________________________________________________________ 43 



2. Obligatory unloading at a staging point not planned. Route plan not duly drawn up 

regarding journey times and rest periods. 

See above A. I. 


Considering the minimum space requirements indicated in the table of Chapter VI, section A of 

Council Directive 91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC he lorry was overloaded by 

8 horses. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. aa, first indent of Council Directive 91/628 

EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter VI, section A of the 

annex. 

C. Responsibility of the veterinarian responsible at the staging point: 

The veterinary service responsible at the staging point (A.U.S.L. Piacenza) should not have authorized 

the continuation of the journey with all 35 horses. With 35 horses onboard the lorry was overloaded by 

8 horses contravening existing legislation constituting a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. aa, first 

indent of Council Directive 91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with 

Chapter VI, section A of the annex. 

Signed: 



Annex: 


Annex: 

_________________________________________________________________ 44 



TRANSPORT OF HORSES FROM SOUTH SPAIN TO SOUTH ITALY 

28 th – 31 st July 2006 

Transport company: PORTAGERO LDA (Portugal) 



Place of first contact with lorry: A10 near Albenga, Italy 

Outside temperature: 32°C 

Distance from place of loading to destination: 2.921 km 13 

I. FACTS FOUND AND INFORMATION RECEIVED: 

1. Details of Transport Company / lorry / driver(s) 

Name of transport company: Portagero LDA, Vila Nova de Cerveira, 4920 Portugal 

Name of Driver 1: Adelson (Brazilian nationality), according to the information of the drivers they 

are both employees of Spanish transport company Mazas. 

Name of Driver 2: Francisco (Brazilian nationality) 

Licence plates: Portuguese license plate: 85BL89, Spanish license plate R 4135EBB 

Description of the lorry: One compartment lorry, grey with red stripes, cab white, inscriptions on 

the cab: Orlando and on the doors Ganados Mazas, Pontevedra 


2.1. There is the original route plan and a copy 

2.1.1. original route plan: 

Transporter: Transportes Portagero LDA ( P50665010), Vila Nova de Cerveira, 4920 Portugal 

Signiture of the transporter: missing 


Place of departure: Explotaciones ganaderos del sur (this is a company name, not a place 14 ) 

13 According to Marco Polo route planer from Castilleja del Campo to Bari it is 2.921 km 

14 

Remarks of the author are written cursively. 

_________________________________________________________________ 45 


Distance from 

place of 

loading: 2.921 

km


Destination: Mattatoio CE 2612M, via Cozze 2, 70100 Italy ( IT00013095) ( there is the ZIP code 

indicated but the place is missing) 

Health certificate number: missing 



Stamp of veterinary service: Junta de Andalusia, Delegación Provincial de Sevilla 

Person responsible during the transport: Adelson Martins de Godoy 

Date and time of departure: 28.07.06/ 20:00 h 

Planned stops: Area de descanso, National road, 22003, Spain, 29.07.2006, 04:00 h; area de 

descanso, national road, 16100 Italy, 29.07.2006, 14:00 h. (It is not indicated that any stops had been 

carried out.) 

Programmed staging point: No staging point programmed 

Signature of the person responsible during transport: Missing 

2.1. second copy of the route plan: 

This is different as it is signed by the driver and the driver filled in the box 13 iii.) by hand: Piacenza 

Cadeo, IT, Euroitalia. (He “completes” the route plan during the police control in Italy (29.07.06, 

20.00h) 

2.2. INTRA: 

Sender: Explotaciones ganaderas del sur, Avenida de Andalucia, 41810 Castilleja del Campo, Spain 

Destination: La Maddalena, srl. Via Quaranta, 133, 70100 Bari, Italia 

Health certificate number: INTRA.ES.2006 0016965 

Veterinary service responsible: ES47001 Sevilla 

Loading place: 41810 Castilleja del Campo 

Transporter: Transportes Portagero LDA, Vila Nova de Cerveira, 4920 Vila Nova de Cerveira 

(Portugal) 




Breed: “Bretona” 

Sex: females 

Age: 18 months 

Veterinarian responsible: Javier García Marzal, Sevilla, OCA Poniente, UVL ES 47001 

3. Information given by the drivers: 

- 31 horses are loaded on the lorry 

- they loaded at Sevilla around 24 hours ago. They drove from Sevilla via Bailen, Manzanares, 

Valencia, Barcelona, La Jonquera. 



Condition of the animals: the animals are exhausted. See below 

Levels: 1 

Impression of loading density: overloaded 

Loading density according to taken measurements: 13,55 m x 2,5 m = 33,87m² 

33,87:1,2 = 28,23, overloaded by at least 3 horses 

Watering devices: water troughs in the front and in the back 

Bedding: straw ( see below section 5) 

Dividers: 1 divider is placed 



Temperature inside the lorry: unknown 

Hurt animals: several horses have superficial injuries and scratches 

Sick animals: we spot two horses with thick yellow nose discharge; when we first inspect the lorry 

two horses are lying down with their heads on the floor; one of them has obvious difficulties in 

getting back up. When the lorry stops the second time this same animal is lying down. See below 

section 5. 

Dead animals: we don’t observe any dead animals. However 3 horses have to be emergency 

slaughtered before arriving at the destination. See below section 5. 

_________________________________________________________________ 46 



Horses from South Spain to South Italy, Company Portagero, 29.07.06 

Saturday, 29 th July 2006 


18.00 h: The lorry stops at a gas station on the highway A 10 in Italy in near Albenga. . 

Two horses are lying down with their heads on the ground. The drivers manage to get them both up by 

pulling water in their faces. One of them has serious problems in getting up. 

The straw bedding in the lorry is extremely clean and dry taking into account the fact that the horses 

had already been on the lorry for 24 hours. (This could be a sign that they did not receive any water 

during the journey) 

18.30 h: The lorry continues its journey and takes the A 26 in direction of Alessandria. 

We call police. 

19:53 h: We meet police and they escort the lorry to the next gas station. 

_________________________________________________________________ 47 



20:00 h: When the lorry stops at the gas station the same horses as before are lying down. The 

drivers manage to get him them up again. 

Apparently after a phone conversation with their boss the drivers say that they will unload the horses 

at the staging point at Piacenza. One of the drivers “completes” the route plan filling in the “Piacenza, 

Cadeo,IT, Euroitalia. 

The police issue a fine of 3.098 EUR because of the overloading and another fine of 3.098 EUR 

for the incorrect accompanying documents. 

21:10 h: The police control is terminated. The drivers ask us to escort them to the staging point of 

Piacenza since they had never been there. We take them to the staging point. 

23.00 h The lorry arrives at the staging point, Euroitalia S.p.A, Loc. Zappelazzo, I – Carpanato 

Piacentino ( PC). The horses are unloaded. 

23.30 h: The unloading is terminated. When the horses enter the stables they all urinate. 

The horses are supplied with hay and water. The manager of the staging point turns the water system 

on and off because the horses are so desperate to drink and we are afraid they will get colic. The 

horses are put into 3 pens that have thick clean bedding. 

There are male and female horses together. The majority of the horses are the same breed and 

approximately the same age. There are several horses that obviously are older than 18 months. 

E.g.: One white horse has shoes on the front and back hooves. According to the scratches on his 

nose back this horse had been used for riding. He is older than 18 months. 

There are 3 horses in poor condition: 

Horses from South Spain to South Italy, Company Portagero, 30.07.06 

Alessandra: a young strong mare that is lame on one front leg. Her leg is stiff and she has severe 

problems walking. 

Claudio: a male foal has both his front hooves deformed (apparently since his birth) and can hardly 

walk. 

Natasha: an Arabian mix is very lame on one front leg and one hind leg. She has old (knitted) injuries 

on both that legs and on the shoulder. Apparently she has had an accident. She can hardly walk. 

_________________________________________________________________ 48 



We ask the manager of the staging point to separate these horses. The three are put into a large pen 

but always stick very close together. All three eat and drink. 

Claudio, Alessandra and Natasha, Company Portagero, 30.07.06 

Sunday, 30 th July 2006 

10.00 h: We meet the official veterinarian Dott. Lanza ( A.U.S.L. Piacenza). 

He orders three horses to be left behind because of the overloading and decides that the three horses 

in poor condition have to be emergency slaughtered at the slaughterhouse of Castel San Giovanni (35 

km away). 

22.30 h: The drivers inform us that they cannot reload after the scheduled obligatory 24 hours 

because there are problems regarding the payment for the staging point. 

10.00 h: The horses are reloaded. 

11.00 h: The lorry leaves the staging point. 

Monday, 31 st July 2006 

The horses Claudio, Natasha and Alessandra stay behind. According to the information of the official 

veterinarian Dr. Lanza the 3 horses will be picked up by the lorry of the slaughterhouse of Castel San 

Giovanni on Tuesday morning. 

Arrival at destination: According to the information of the drivers the lorry arrived at its destination 

Bari the 31 st at 23.30 h. 



I. Deficient veterinary check regarding the accompanying documents at the place of departure 

in Spain 

The veterinary service at the place of departure in Spain (Sevilla, OCA Poniente) should not have 

authorized this transport by signing the accompanying documents since the transport contravened 

existing legislation. 

_________________________________________________________________ 49 



1. The veterinary service at the place of departure in Spain (Sevilla, OCA Poniente) did not make 

sure that the route plan was duly drawn up. 

a. The planning of the journey was unrealistic. The lorry could not reach the destination in 24 

hours. 

b. No staging had been programmed for a journey of 2.921 km. 

The total distance from Castilleja del Campo to Bari is 2.921 km. Going non stop at 80km/h the 

lorry could reach Bari in 36,5 hours. 

However in order to calculate the journey time realistically: 

aa. The time for necessary stops for the drivers has to be added and it should be taken into 

consideration that even with two drivers the lorry cannot be driven longer then 20 hours without break 

of 8 hours (Regulation EC 3820/85) 

bb. The time for filling in the water tanks and the obligatory stops for watering the horses has to be 

added 

cc. Situations of dense traffic have to be taken in consideration. 

2. The veterinary service did not make sure that the Intra communitarian certificate was filled in 

correctly. Wrong information stated from the INTRA: 

a. On the INTRA it was indicated that 32 horses were loaded onto the lorry. In reality 31 horses were 

loaded. 

b. According to the INTRA all horses were of the breed “Breton”. In reality horses of different breeds 

were loaded. 

c. According to the INTRA all animals were 18 months old. In reality there were several older animals 

including animals older than 24 months. 

d. According to the INTRA the whole consignment consisted of female animals. Instead on the lorry 

there were male and female horses. 



drawn up and it constitutes a violation of Art. 8, lit. d.) of Council directive 91/629/EEC as 




steps to ensure the integrity of certification as required in Art. 4 of Council Directive 96/93EC. 

This is regarding the route plan and regarding the INTRA. 

II. Deficient veterinary check regarding the exceeded loading density: 

The official veterinarian at the place of departure in Spain should not have authorised the transport for 

32 horses as with 32 horses the loading density was exceeded contravening the current legislation. 

The lorry used had the standard size of 13,5 m x 2,5 m. That means that it had a loading capacity for 

28 young horses – up to 24 months. 


1. Undue suffering caused and transportation in a way that could cause injuries to the animals. 

Undue suffering was caused to the animals as 

- the loading density was exceeded 

- animals unfit for travelling were loaded. 

Furthermore the overloading increased the danger of the animals suffering injuries during 

transportation. This is because when one horse is lying down the other horses automatically have to 

_________________________________________________________________ 50 



stand over the animal lying down and that can make it impossible for the prone animal to get up again 

and the animal is always exposed to the danger of the others stepping on him. 

Furthermore undue suffering was caused to the animals because they were not watered every 8 

hours. 



2. Transportation of unfit animals 

On the lorry at least two horses were transported that were not fit for travelling from the beginning of 

the journey. Regarding the mare “Alessandra” it is possible that she had been injured during 

transportation regarding the two other horses Natasha and Claudio it was obvious that they were unfit 

for travelling from the beginning of the journey. 



3. Obligatory unloading at a staging point not planned. Route plan not duly drawn up regarding 

journey times and rest periods. 

See above A. I. 1 



Council Directive 91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC he lorry was overloaded by 

more then 3 horses. (see above) 

Additionally the length of the journey and the high temperature should have been taken into 

consideration. The horses should have been granted more space to comply with the requirements to 

guarantee at least their very minimum of welfare that is possible during a long distance transport. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. a, first intend of Council Directive 

91/628/EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29/EC in connection with Chapter I, section A, 

point 3, lit. a of the annex. 

5. Horses not watered every 8 hours 

According to the extremely dry and clean condition of the straw after 24 hours of transportation and 

according to the indications on the route plan the horses had not been watered every 8 hours. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. aa, second indend of Council Directive 

91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter VII, point 4, 

lit. c of the annex. 

Signed 


Animals’ Angels e.V. 

Annex: 


2. copy of INTRA 

_________________________________________________________________ 51 


Annex 1: 


_________________________________________________________________ 52 


Annex 2: 


_________________________________________________________________ 53 



_________________________________________________________________ 54 



29 th – 30 th July 2006 

Transport company: MAITXENE (Spain) 



Place of first contact with lorry: A 21 west of Piacenza, Italy (bridge no. 114) 

Outside temperature: 37.5°C 


Correggio: 

place of 

unloading 

I. FACTS FOUND AND INFORMATION RECEIVED: 

Gorizia: 

Destination 

according to 

documents 

1. Details of Transport Company / lorry / driver(s) 

Name of transport company: Maitxene 

Name of driver: Leonardus Henricus Marinus Damen (Dutch nationality) 

Licence plates: 3999DVC; R1818BBC 

Description of the lorry: Double deck lorry with trailer, silver brown, inscription on the flap Maitxene 

T +34 948 305146, Mob +34 609 400 403; 609 402762 


Apparently there are two consignments since there are two route plans from two different autonomous 

regions: 

1. Route plan 

Transporter: missing 

License plate: 3999 DVC 

Species: missing 

Number of animals: missing 




Date and time of departure: 29.07.06/ 8.00pm 

Stamp of veterinary service: Stamp of veterinary service of the autonomous region Cantabria 

Signature of person responsible during transport: signature of the driver 

_________________________________________________________________ 55 



Nearly blank route plan, Horses from Spain to Italy, company Maitxene, 30.07.06 

2. Route plan 

Transporter: Maitxene sl. Transportes, Senorio de Lozen, nr. 2, Navarra, 46823 España 

Vehicle: 3999 DVC, R 1818 BBC 

Species: 0101 


Place of departure: Adolfo Otaola, ES ( this is a name not a place) 

Place of destination: AgroImpex, via Luigi Cadorna, 34170 Italia (The place is missing). 




Date and time of departure: 29.07.06/ 12.00 h 

Stamp of veterinary service: missing 

Person responsible during transport: Leonardus Henricus Marinus Damen 

Planned stops: in the box 13.) i) is written Ventimigilia 

Stamp of 

veterinary 

service of 

Cantabria 

INTRA: 

Sender: Adolfo Otaola, Izoria, 01013 Alaya, Spain 

Destination: AGROIMPEX srl., via L. Cadorna, 22, 34170 Gorizia, Italy. 


Local reference number: es-vi 370 

Veterinary service responsible: ES39715 Vitoria 

Place of destination: Agro Impex via Luigi Cadona, 2, 34170 Gorizia (authorisation number: 

initfr15cf1) (according to the information of the veterinary service responsible at Gorizia the indicated 

authorisation number is not existing) 

Date and time of departure: 29.07.06/ 12:00 h 

Transporter: Maitxene sl.Transportes, Senorio de Lozen, 2, 46823 Navarrés, Navarra, Spain 


(Please note that we don’t have all information from the INTRA) 

_________________________________________________________________ 56 



- 34 horses are loaded on the lorry 

- the destination where it is going to unload is near Reggio Emilia 


Species: Horses 


_________________________________________________________________ 57 



Condition of the animals: The horses seem to be in satisfactory condition 

Levels: Two/ On the second level there are no animals loaded. However on the second deck there is 

dirty straw bedding. 

Impression of loading density: too high 

Loading density according to taken measurements: Lorry: 7.6 x 2.5 = 19m²/ Trailer 7.5 x 2.5 = 

18.75 m². According to our measurement 31 horses fit on the lorry. Assuming that the information 

given by the driver is correct the lorry is overloaded by 3 horses. 

Watering devices: yes, but turned off 

Bedding: straw 

Dividers: yes, the dividers are attached to the ceiling (the second deck) and because the second deck 

is lifted up the dividers don’t meet the floor and there is a big gap between the dividers and the floor. 

Height/ Headspace: insufficient for several horses as the second deck is installed 

Ventilation system: yes, but turned off 

Temperature inside the lorry: 33°C (the lorry is parked in the shade under the bridge) 





17.00 h: The lorry stops under a bridge (ponte 114) on the A 21 west of Piacenza. 

The driver says that he will stop under the bridge for 45 minutes. 

There is one horse lying down with his head on the floor. The driver manages to get him up without 

further problems. 

17:17 h: We call police, Polizia Stradale di Alessandria. Police claim that it is impossible for them to 

send a team since there is a road accident. 

17.40 h: The lorry leaves. 

19.09 h: The lorry takes the exit for Reggio Emilia. 

19:35 h: The transport arrives at Correggio. 

The horses are unloaded at Correggio a stable in the street via Cesis. 

Animals’ Angels knows the place where the horses are unloaded under the company name: 

C.A.B. S.r.l., via Cesis, 2, 42015 Correggio, Italy, registration number 11615. 

All horses are able to walk from the lorry. We do not observe any problems. 

However we observe that on the second deck of the lorry there is dirty straw and on the outside of the 

second floor there is dried excrement. 

_________________________________________________________________ 58 


Horses from Spain to Italy, company Maitxene, 30.07.06 




Deficient veterinary check regarding the accompanying documents at the places of departure 

in Spain 

The veterinary service at the place of departure in Spain at Cantabria and the Pais Vasco should not 

have authorized this transport by signing the accompanying documents since the transport 

contravened existing legislation. 

I. 1. The veterinary service at the 1 st place of departure 15 in Pais Vasco did not make sure that 

the route plan was duly drawn up. 

On the route plan for the consignment from Pais Vasco the stamp of the veterinary service was 

missing. The signature of the transporter was missing, the itinerary was missing, the health certificate 

number was missing and the signature of the person responsible was missing. As place of departure 

the name of a person was indicated and as destination only a ZIP code was indicated. 



drawn up and it constitutes a violation of Art. 8, lit. d.) of Council directive 91/628 EEC as 





I.2. From the INTRA signed by the official veterinary service at the place of departure in Pais 

Vasco stated wrong information as the authorisation number for the indicated place of 

destination was not existing. 

This represents a violation of Council Directive 96/93EC on the certification of animals and 

animal products. The competent Spanish authority did not take the necessary steps to ensure 

the integrity of certification as required in Art. 4 of Council Directive 96/93EC. 

II. The veterinary service at the 2 nd place of departure in Cantabria did not make sure that the 

route plan was duly drawn up. 

15 

Assuming that the time of departure indicated on the route plan and on the INTRA from Pais Vasco 

is correct the first loading place must have been in Pais Vasco. 

_________________________________________________________________ 59 



Except from the stamp of the veterinary service, the incomplete license plate, the signature of the 

driver and the date and time of departure the route plan was blank. 



drawn up and it constitutes a violation of Art. 8, lit. d.) of Council Directive 91/628/EEC as 

amended by Council directive 95/29 EC. 



steps to ensure the integrity of certification as required in Art. 4 of Council Directive 96/93EC. 


1. Undue suffering caused and transportation in a way that could cause injuries to the animals 

Undue suffering was caused to the animals due to the overloading by 3 horses, due to the insufficient 

head space for several animals and due to the exceeded journey time. 

The horses were transported in a way that could cause them injuries because of the gap between the 

dividers and floor. That involved the possibility that the horses could get stuck under the dividers. 



2. Route plan not duly drawn up 

See above A.I and II. 

3. Animals not transported to the place of destination 

The horses were not transported to the place of destination indicated in the documents but to another 

place (farm) around 320 km away from the indicated destination. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 4 and Art. 5 point 2, lit. g of Council Directive 91/628 EEC as 




Council Directive 91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC the lorry was overloaded by 

3 horses. 

Additionally the length of the journey and the high temperature should have been taken into 

consideration. The horses should have been granted more space to comply with the requirements to 

guarantee at least their very minimum of welfare that is possible during a long distance transport. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. a, first intend of Council Directive 

91/628/EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29/EC in connection with Chapter I, section A, 

point 3, lit. a of the annex. 

5. Exceeded journey time 

Assuming that the time of departure indicated on the INTRA and the route plan for the consignment 

from the País Vasco is correct the maximum journey time was exceeded by 7,5 hours. As date and 

time of departure the 29 th , 12.00 h was indicated. The horses were unloaded at the “place of 

destination” the 30 th at 19.35 h. 

_________________________________________________________________ 60 



This constitutes a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. aa, second indent of Council Directive 

91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 in connection with Chapter VII, point 4, lit c 

and point 5 of annex. 

6. Insufficient head space/ Horses transported on a double deck lorry 

The horses were transported on the first level of a double deck lorry. The second deck was lifted up 

however the head space was insufficient for several horses. 

This represents a violation of Art. 3 paragraph 1, lit. a, first intend of Council Directive 91/628 

EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter I, section A, point 2, 

lit b and h of the annex. 

7. Horses not watered every 8 hours 

According to the indications on the route plan the horses had not been watered every 8 hours. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. aa, second intend of Council Directive 

91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter VII, point 4, 

lit. c of the annex. 

8. Vehicle not properly cleaned before loading 

On the second deck of the lorry there was dirty straw and excrement and outside the lorry at the height 

of the second deck there was dried faeces. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. a, second intend of Council Directive 

91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection Chapter I, number 8 of the 

annex. 

Signed: 


Animals Angels e.V 

_________________________________________________________________ 61 



TRANSPORT OF HORSES FROM Spain to Italy 

Transport company: MAZAS 

03.08.2006 


Outside temperature at that time: 36°C 

Place of first contact with lorry: Italy, freeway around Bologna 

Distance between place of departure and destination is: 2.444 km 16 (from 26100 Torrecilla 

via Bologna to Latiano) 

Animals Angels´Team: Tea Dronjic, Iris Baumgärtner, 

Transport Route from 26100 Torrecilla via Bologna to Latiano 



Name of transport company: Transportes Mazas, Soziedad Unipesoal, LDA., 

Alvara 9678/2003, Lic. Communitaria 6637/2003 

Address: Edificio Ilha dos Amores n.°17, 

4920-270 Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal 

Name of Drivers: 2 Portuguese drivers, name not legible 

License plates: 87-BJ-46 (P)/ 5871 BBB (ES) 

Description of the lorry: white cab, grey one-compartment trailer 

Surface of 1.floor: 32 m² 

24 hours 

exceeded at 

Bologna 


The transport of horses was accompanied by 2 Health Certificates and 2 Route plans and the weigh 

bill (CMR) 


_________________________________________________________________ 62 


2.1. Information taken from the Intracommunity Certificates: 


Number of health certificate: INTRA.ES.2006.0016967 INTRA.ES.2006.0017032 

Local ref.nb: not indicated not indicated 

Number of animals: 9 21 

Transporter Transportes Erronkari SL, 

Iraizoz, 31746 Ulzama, Spain 

Auth.nb.: ATES14310000118 

Exporter/ Sender: Transportes Erronkari SL, 


Importer/ Buyer: CO.BE.C SRL, Macello di 

Ostuni, 72022 Latiano, Italy 

Place of origin Garde Reinaldo Felix, 

31381 Caparroso 

Auth.nb: ES310650000102 

Transportes Erronkari SL, 


Auth.nb.: ATES14310000118 

Transportes Erronkari SL, 


CO.BE.C SRL, Macello di 

Ostuni, 72022 Latiano, Italy 

Ganaderia Majadal S.L., 

Poligono San Lazaro, 

26100 Torrecilla En Cameros 

Auth.nb.: ES261510000003 

Place of departure: 31381 Caparroso 26100 Torrecilla En Cameros 

Date and time of departure: 31.07.06, 07:00 h 31.07.06, 07:00 h 

Health Certificate “Slaughter” “others” 

Destination: CO.BE.C SRL, 

CO.BE.C SRL, 

Macello di Ostuni, 

Stalla di Sosta N°9, 

72022 Latiano, Italy 

BR013 VialeCotrino, 

72022 Latiano, Italy 

Nr. 2360 

INITIT 0500103997 

Estimated time of journey: 24 hours 28 hours 

Veterinary service which issued ES 34014 Pamplona 

ES 35016 Logrono 

the documents: 

Gobierno Navarra 

Gobierno Rioja 

Name of veterinarian: Antonio Puig Ayestaran unknown 

2.2. Information on transport taken from the Route plans: 

Route plan to Health Certif.nb. INTRA.ES.2006.0016967 INTRA.ES.2006.0017032 

Transport company: Transportes Erronkari 

(printed and cancelled) 

MAZAS (handwritten) 

Transportes Erronkari 


MAZAS (handwritten) 

Number of animals: 9 21 

Place of departure Garde Reinaldo Felix (ES) Ganaderia Majadal S.L. (ES) 

Date of departure 31.07.06, 7:00 h 

31.07.06, 7:00 h 



2-7-06 (handwritten) 

02.08.2007 (handwritten) 

Time of departure: Not indicated 17:30 h* 

Place of destination: CO.BE.C.SRL, Macello di CO.BE.C.SRL, Stalla di Sosta, 

Ostuni, 72022 Latiano 

72022 Latiano 

Estimated time of journey: 24 hours 28 hours 

Itinerary: Irun, Ventimiglia, Latiano Irun, Arles, Ventimiglia, 

Piacenza, Bari, Latiano * 

Planned unloading / stops: Stop at Ventimiglia, 31.07.06 Stop at Aire de Cantarelles 

(printed) 

03.08.06, 0:45-2:30 h 

Veterinary service which 

issued the documents: 

2.3. Information taken from the weigh bill: 

no staging point indicated no staging point indicated 

Gobierne de Navarro Gobierno Rioja (?) 

According to the weigh bill only 29 horses were transported. 

_________________________________________________________________ 63 



3. Description of loading situation and condition of the animals at the time of control 

Species: 29 young horses 


Loading density: exceeded, 1,1 m² per horse (32 m²/ 29 horses) 

Watering devices: no, water system for bovines, no water buckets 

Bedding: straw bedding 

Dividers: yes 




Impression of the animals: all horses are visibly stressed and exhausted, 

2 young horses collapsed repeatedly 


13:54 h: While overtaking the truck on the freeway ring around Bologna we observe one horse lying 

down, trying to get up. We try to stop the drivers, but they do not. We call the police. 

14:10 h: a police car with 2 police officers, stops the truck on the SOS parking place. 

The officers are from: Polizia Stradale, Sottosezione Polstrada, Bologna Sud, Castelecchio di 

Reno (Bolognia), Via del Lavoro 75, Tel: 0516111811, C.A.P. 40033 

The police officers are having problems finding out the actual date and time of departure in Spain, 

since the accompanying documents are not conformable. According to the Health Certificates the 

transport started on the 31.07.06 at 7:00 h. In one of the Route Plans the 02.07.06 was indicated, in 

the other one the 02.08.06, time of departure 17:30 h. According to the drivers discs the transport 

started on the 02.08.06 at 14:00 h. The drivers also only stopped once during the journey. 

The accompanying documents are also not corresponding regarding the number of animals. In 

accordance with the Route plans and Health Certificates 30 horses are loaded, in the weigh bill only 

29 horses are mentioned. We count 29 horses. 

Taken the drivers discs as a basis, since it seems the only reliable source of information, the horses 

are at that time 24 hours on transport, without water. As a consequence of transport stress, the heat 

and the lack of water and rest, the horses are very exhausted. Especially the young horses are trying 

to lie down and rest, but the drivers force them to stand up again. 

At 15:00 h the police calls the Veterinary Service. 

At 15:30 h the vet Dr. Franco Santa Chiara from ASL Bologna arrives, has a very quick look at the 

horses and checks the accompanying documents. After ca. 30 minutes he decides, that we have to 

move to another place and we drive to a Maut station, called Casalecchio. 

The horses, who are standing close to the 2 water devices are desperately licking water from the 

water nipples, but they can not get much since it is for bovines and not adequate for horses. The 

drivers do not have additional water buckets. 1 horse is lying down meanwhile and refuses to stand up 

again. 

We require the unloading of the horses at one of the nearest staging points, which is Piacenza. 

Dr. Santa Chiara calls the staging point in Piacenza and they obviously accepted the horses. The 

police informs us, that they will find someone from the police department to escort the transport to the 

staging point in Piacenza. 

Around 17:00 h Dr. Santa Chiara decides to send the transport to the police station in order to do the 

necessary paperwork. He seems to be confused about the further procedures, like: “Who is supposed 

to write the sanctions and who is supposed to write the Provision for the discharge (unloading) of the 

animals?” 

_________________________________________________________________ 64 


One of the police officers informed us, that they sanctioned 4 offences concerning 

- overcrowding 

- staging point not programmed 

- horses not watered according to the directive 

- no water system resp. water buckets 


The police officers and the transport with the horses turns into the direction of the police station, but 

still has to wait for Dr. Santa Chiara, who is busy on the phone. After he finishes his telephone 

conversation, he obviously changes his mind. He informs us now, that the horses should continue 

their journey to Latiano, since this was in the best interest of the horses. Even the police seems to be 

surprised. We insist on the unloading, because the horses are now more than 27 hours on transport , 

they have not received water even once during the whole journey and it will be a minimum of another 

10 hours to Latiano. He is not interested and also convinced, that it is not obligatory to give water 

every 8 hours, only if necessary. We also inform Dr. Santa Chiara, that this transport company is 

known for repeatedly violating the law. 

17:30 h: The transport is allowed to continue its journey to Latiano. The horses are now already 27 ½ 

hours on transport. Dr. Santa Chiara says, he will send a complain to the Spanish vets who signed the 

accompanying documents without a staging point programmed. 


1. Accompanying documents 

The accompanying documents were found to contain irregularities. The horses were accompanied by 

2 Health Certificates and 2 Route plans which were not corresponding, furthermore the Health 

Certificates were invalid. 

a.) Unrealistic date and time of departure. According to both Health Certificates the date and 

time of departure of the horses was the 31.07.06, at 7:00 h, even though it was planned to 

transport the horses in the same vehicle. The distance between the two places of loading was 

146 km 17 . 

This might be a systemic problem, since it is possible, the veterinarians at both places 

did not know that another consignment would be transported with the same vehicle. It 

shows again the importance of an official veterinarian being present during loading 

procedures. 

b.) Incorrect date and time of departure. The transport actually started according to the drivers 

discs on the 02.08.2006, at 14:00 h and not as indicated in the Health Certificate on the 

31.07.2006. In the Route plans the printed date and time of departure on the 31.07.06, at 7:00 

h was cancelled and replaced with the handwritten date of 02.07.06 (for 

INTRA.ES.2006.0016967), time not indicated, and with the handwritten date of the 02.08.06, 

17:30 h (for INTRA.ES.2006.0017032). 

At the time the animals were loaded, the Health Certificates were not valid anymore since the 

were inspected more than 48 hours before. 

c.) Incorrect transport company. The transport company Erronkari and means of transport 

indicated in the Health Certificate was not used, instead the company MAZAS carried out the 

transport. Also the printed information in the Route plans regarding the transport company, the 

means of transport and the itinerary were cancelled and replaced with other information. 

d.) Incorrect number of animals. The actual number of 29 horses did not correspond with the 

number of 9 and 21 horses indicated in the Health Certificates. 


_________________________________________________________________ 65 



e.) Unrealistic journey time. The estimated journey time of 24 hours and 28 hours as indicated 

in the accompanying documents was unrealistic. For a distance of 2.444 km, even when 

driving non-stop with the maximum permitted speed of 80 km/h, the journey time would have 

been 30 hours at minimum, despite the time for: 

- loading another consignment of 9 horses in Carparosso, 

- filling water tanks and watering the horses, 

- the necessary breaks for the drivers and the dense traffic, during this period of the year. 

f.) Obligatory unloading at a Staging point and rest periods not programmed. The Route 

plans were not duly drawn up regarding journey times and rest periods. Despite the fact, that 

the length of the journey required it after a maximum journey time of 24 hours the obligatory 

unloading at a staging point was not programmed. 

1.1. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OFFICIAL VETERINARIANS 

The member states shall ensure that a transporter does not transport any animal in a way which is 

likely to cause injury or undue suffering to that animal. 

1.1.1. Responsibility of the official veterinarians at the place of departure in Spain 

The veterinary services at the place of departure in Spain (ES 34014 and ES 35016) did not check 

properly on the accompanying documents and should not have authorized this transport since it 

contravened existing legislation (please see point 1., lit. a.), b.), c.), d.).) 

This is in violation of Council Directive 96/93 EC on the certification of animals and animal 

products. The competent Spanish authority did not all necessary steps to ensure the integrity 

of certification as required in Art. 4 of Council Directive 96/93 EC. 

Both veterinary services did not verify the estimated journey time. Furthermore the obligatory 

unloading at a staging point was not planed both route plans not duly drawn up regarding journey 

times and rest periods (please see point 1., e.), f.)). 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 2, lit.b and lit. c, d.), i.), ii.) and f.) as 

well as a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1.), aa.) second indent of Council directive 91/EEC as 


1.1.2. Responsibility of the official veterinarian at the place of control in Itlay 

Since the accompanying documents were found to contain irregularities, the official veterinarian at the 

place of control at Bologna should have acted according to Art.8 and Art. 9 of Council Direction 

90/425/EEC and informed the competent authority at the place of departure in Spain without delay. 

1.1.3. Responsibility of the official veterinarian at the place of destination in Italy 

Provided that the Spanish veterinarian Services which issued the certificates accompanying the 

horses, had communicated the data according to Art.4, paragraph 2.) of Council Directive 

90/425/EEC to the official veterinarians at the place of destination, irregularities on the schedule 

should have been noticed and information given to the veterinarians at the place of departure in Spain. 

1.2. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TRANSPORTER 

The transporter has not duly drawn up the Route plan regarding journey times and rest periods. The 

obligatory unloading at a staging point was not planned. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 2, lit.b and lit.d, first indent of 


of Art. 3. paragraph 1, lit. aa), second indent of Council directive 91/EEC as amended by 

Council directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter VII, point 4, lit. c and point 5 of the 

annex. 

_________________________________________________________________ 66 



The transporter used a Health Certificate which was invalid, since different transport company and a 

different vehicle was indicated and an incorrect date of departure. Furthermore the horses were 

inspected more than 48 hours before the loading. 

This constitutes a violation of Art.4., paragraph 1. of Council directive 90/426/EEC on animal 

health conditions governing the movement and import from third countries of equidae. 

2. Transport conditions and welfare of the animals 

The transport conditions were not in compliance with the relevant legislation and the welfare of the 

animals during transport was ignored by the transporter. 

The official veterinarian at the place of control in Italy did not take any action to solve the obvious 

problem and to safeguard the welfare of the horses. 

2.1. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TRANSPORTER 

The transporter caused undue suffering to the horses because he 

- exceeded the permitted loading density 

- exceeded the permitted maximum journey time 

- did not give water to the horses every 8 hours 

At the time of the control all horses were visibly stressed and exhausted. 



2.1.1 Exceeded loading density 

Given the surface area of 32 m² (measured), each of the 29 horses only had 1,1 m². The minimum 

space requirements for young horses, as indicated in the tables of Chapter VI, section A, is 1,2 m². 

Furthermore it is written under the table of minimum space requirements, that during long journeys, 

foals and young horses must be able to lie down and that these space allowances may vary (increase) 

by a maximum of 20 % for young horses and foals, depending on the meteorological conditions and 

the journey time. 

According to the CMR weighbill, the horses had an average weight of 430 kg (12.490 kg / 29 horses). 

This constitutes a violation of Art.3, paragraph 1, lit. aa, first indent of Council Directive 91/628 

EEC as amended by Council directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter I, section A, point 2, 

lit.a and Chapter VI, point 47., section A of the Annex. 

2.1.2. Exceeded maximum journey time 

The transporter did not unload the horses after a journey of 24 hours at an authorized staging point for 

the required rest period of at least 24 hours. 

At 14:10 h, when the transport was stopped at Bologna by police, the horses were already transported 

for 24 hours. From Bologna to the destination in Latiano it was still a distance of 798 km 18 and even 

with driving non-stop at a speed of 80 km/h another minimum of 10 hours of transportation. 

This constitutes a violation of Art.3, paragraph 1, lit. aa, second indent of Council directive 

91/EEC as amended by Council directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter VII, point 4, lit. c 

and point 5 of the annex. 


_________________________________________________________________ 67 


2.1.3. Watering intervals not respected 


The vehicle was not equipped with an adequate water system, neither with water buckets. Accordingly 

the horses did not receive water every 8 hours. Consistent with the drivers disc, only once the journey 

was interrupted for a break. 


amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter I., A. General provisions, 

paragraph 2.), lit. d.) and Chapter VII, 48.Watering and feeding intervals, paragraph 4., lit. b.) of 

the Annex. 

2.1.4. Foal not seperated 

One foal (please see photo) was loaded within a group of horses of different age and size/weight. 



paragraph 3.), lit. a.) of the Annex. 

2.2. RESPONSIBILITY OF THE OFFICIAL VETERINARIAN 

AT THE PLACE OF CONTROL IN ITLAY 

The poor condition of the horses and the exceeding of the maximum journey time at the time of the 

control, required the unloading of the animals as soon as possible (please see point 2.1./ 2.2./ 2.3.). 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1.), a.) and aa.) and Art.9., paragraph 1.), b.) of 

Council directive 91/EEC as amended by Council directive 95/29 EC 

The staging point in Piacenza was only 150 km away and still the veterinarian decided, to let the 

transport continue to the place of destination in Latiano. The distance between Bologna and Latiano is 

798 km and takes a minimum of 10 hours not considering the dense traffic at that day. Thus undue 

suffering was caused to the animals. 



III. Animal welfare concerns 

As a consequence of the transport conditions, the length of the journey and the high temperature all 

the horses were very exhausted. 2 of them, Pedro and Marina, lied down repeatedly and had 

difficulties to get on their feet again (please see photos in the Annex). 

Animals Angels veterinarian Tea Dronjic was convinced, measures should have been taken 

immediately to safeguard the welfare of these horses and could not comprehend at all the decision of 

the official veterinarian. 


ANNEX: 

- Photos (1 page) 

- First page of the Health Certificates (2 pages) 

- Footage (on request) 

_________________________________________________________________ 68 


Photos: Horses visibly exhausted 

Foal not separated from bigger horses 


Excessively exhausted horse Horses trying to avoid stepping on lying horse 

Horse lying down between the legs of other horses 

_________________________________________________________________ 69 


Photos of the Health Certificates: 

INTRA.ES.2006.0017032 


_________________________________________________________________ 70 


INTRA.ES.2006.0016967 


_________________________________________________________________ 71 



FRANCE - ITALY 

_________________________________________________________________ 72 


Horses from France to Italy, 26.-28.07.2006 

TRANSPORT OF HORSES FROM FRANCE TO ITALY 

Transport company: MAITXENE Sl Transportes (Spain) 

26.-28.07.2006 

Animals’ Angels team: Christine Hafner, Tatjana Weißmüller 


Place of first observation of truck: Italy, highway A 14 east of Bologna, direction Ancona 

(shortly before exit Imola). 

Outside temperature at this place: 35°C 


to place of destination: 2.226 km 19 

19 Acc. to ADAC RoutenPlaner, edition 2005/2006 

_________________________________________________________________ 73 




1. Details on transport company / lorry / driver(s) 

Name of transport company: Maitxene Sl Transportes 

Address (acc. to health certif.) Senorio de Lozen N°2 Navarra, 46823 Navarrés, Spain 

Authorisation no. 

(acc. to health certificate): INITFR58FR297 

Name of driver: Lambertus Faal 

License plates: Spanish license plate: 4744 BZH / R 5383 BBL 

Description of the truck: white Scania cab with inscription “Maitxene” on the front, silver 

articulated trailer, type Pezzaioli, brown tailgate, inscription on 

tailgate: “Maitxene Transporte de Ganado, Tel: 0034-609-400 

403, Fax: 0034-948- 305 254, 

Email: transportesmaitxene@wanadoo.es”. 

Surface of truck: 1 st deck: 32m² (acc. to sticker on truck) 


Number of animals: on the accompanying documents 31 horses are indicated, but he 

loaded 2 horses less, because 31 horses simply did not fit into the 

truck. His boss, Mr. Maitxene, was present during loading. 

Planned unloading during 

transport: none 

Others: - veterinarian at place of loading in France was not present during 

loading 

- in his opinion the reason why one horse died and the others were in 

alarming condition was the overloading and the high temperatures 


3.1 Route plan 

Transport company: Maitxene Sl; Camino de Lozen, 1 ??? Navarra, 

Tel: 0034 - 629 501598 


Place of departure: Irissarry (France) 


Place of destination: Taurisano (Italy) 

Estimated time of journey: not indicated 

Planned unloading / stops: not indicated 

Itinerary: Ventimiglia – Pescara – Taurisano 

Stops for watering: Gas station at Nimes (France) on 27.07.06 at 04:00 o’clock for 

1 hour and gas station at Piacenza (Italy) on 27.07.06 at 13 

o’clock for 1 hour 

Veterinary service, 

which stamped the route plan: “Docteurs 

Poeydebat J-P. - Biscaichipy J-P 

Garcia ……. …… (the rest of this line is not legible) 

Vétérinaires-Sanitaires 

64220 SAINT JEAN PIED DE PORT 

Tél: 05 59 37 28 72 Fax: 05 59 37 30 76” 

3.2 Health certificate no. INTRA.FR.2006.0056124 

Transport company: Maitxene Sl Transportes; Senorio de Lozen N°2 Navarra, 

46823 Navarrés, Spain; authorisation no. INITFR58FR297 


Place of loading: 64780 Irissarry (France) 


_________________________________________________________________ 74 



Place of destination: Martinese Antonio Srl., 73056 Taurisano (Italy); 

authorisation no: 084LE011 


Sender: Ithurbide Martial, 64780 Irissarry, France 

Buyer: Martinese Antonio Srl., 73056 Taurisano (Italy) 

Competent local authority 

at place of departure: FR16400 Pyrenees-Atlantiques (Bayonne) 

No. of local reference: 640676/A 

Certificate for horses for: the options “fattening” and “others” are marked 

Stamp on health certificate: Ministere de l’Agriculture, Services Veterinaires 64 

Signature of veterinarian 

on health certificate: Dr. Jean Paul Torio 


Species: horses (of a heavy breed/mixed with a heavy breed) 

Number of horses: 29 (please note that on the documents 31 horses are 

indicated) 

Age: young horses, presumably all under two years 

Identification: passports 

Levels: 1 

Impression of loading density: exceeded. There is not enough room for the horses to lie 

down and for horses that fell or laid down it is impossible 

or difficult to stand back up due to the limited space. 

Loading density according to 

taken measurements: exceeded; 1,1 m² per horse (surface of 32m² / 29 horses) 

Watering devices: automatic water system, additionally truck is equipped with 2 

mobile buckets 

Bedding: sufficient straw 

Partitions: one partition placed in main body of truck; the partition is 

permanently fixed to the roof of the first level (=floor of 

the second level); the truck is double deck (constructed 

for cattle), therefore the second level is raised more than 

normal to give the horses more head space; 

consequently also the partition is raised, which creates a 

huge gap between bottom of partition and floor of truck, 

in which animals can and did in fact remain stuck; 

gooseneck is separated by a wall from main body of truck 

Ventilation: existing 

Temperature inside the truck: at 20:12 o’clock the temperature inside the truck was 31,6°C 

(ventilation turned on) 

Dead animals: 1 male horse 

Hurt animals: numerous horses with minor external injuries, like cuts 

and skin lesions; we observed that several horses were 

trampled on by the others, therefore it can be presumed 

that several horses had at least haematomas. 

Sick animals: all horses are visibly very exhausted, several are 

sweating, during time of observations several horses 

repeatedly collapse, several breath very fast and shallow. 

5. Happenings/Further observations 

Thursday, 27 July 2006 

15:30 We observe the truck on highway A 14 east of Bologna (Italy), direction Ancona. 

18:45 (33° Celsius outside temperature) 

_________________________________________________________________ 75 



Truck stops on highway A 14 under a highway bridge at km 233 (11 km before Loreto). 

Horses appear to be very exhausted: several are sweating, their heads hang down. There is one 

dead male horse in the last compartment. 3 other horses had fallen on him. Driver tries to get 

them up with a broom-handle – without success. The only result is that the broom-handle breaks. He 

then uses an electric prod on the horses and manages to make them stand up. 

Dead horse “Davide” “Confusion” of horses” one is lying on top of the dead one 

Driver states he found the dead horse already around Modena several hours ago. Furthermore the 

driver claims that he then called his boss and was told to continue to destination as it would be too 

problematic to find a place to unload the dead horse. 

19:00 Truck continues transport. 

19:06 Truck stops at gas station “Conero Ovest”. 

We call police. 

19:15 Driver fills up water tank and turns on the automatic water system. Additionally he waters the 

horses with two mobile buckets. The horses fight for the water, chaos breaks loose. A mare (Loretta) 

breaks down during this confusion and is unable to get up, as each time she tries to she hits her 

forehead on the divider. The driver repeatedly tries to get her up. He tries to push her backwards 

(away from the divider) by using an electric prod. She tries to stand up, but each time she hits her 

head on the divider, she falls down again. She somehow moves further under the divider – first there 

was only her head and her front legs under it, later the whole body. Her head is mostly lying on the 

floor and there is the risk that she is trampled by other horses as their stand directly next to her head 

and legs. Respiratory frequency of the mare Loretta at 20:00: 19 breaths within10 seconds 20 . The 

mare is visibly sweating and exhausted. 

Mare Loretta under the divider unable to stand up 

20 This is certainly an abnormal respiratory frequency. The normal frequency (during rest) for a horse is 10-14 

breaths per minute. 

_________________________________________________________________ 76 


This 

horse 

is lying 

ON 

TOP of 

the 

dead 

one. 

Dead 

horse.


Approx. 19:45 Police arrives (Polizia Autostradale Porto San Giorgio). Police contacts the official 

veterinarian because of the dead horse, the mare (Loretta) unable to stand up and because of the 

alarming condition of all other horses. 

19:50 – 20:10 A second horse breaks down at 19:50, head on floor, sweating, fast and shallow 

breathing, but gets back up on his/her own at 20:10. Abnormally high respiratory frequency of 

this horse at 20:02: 9 breaths within 10 seconds. 

Left side: Loretta Left side: Loretta 

Right side: second horse that broke down Right side: second horse that broke down 

20:12 Temperature inside the truck: 31,6°C (ventilation turned on) 

20:22 The mare Loretta is still lying down. Abnormally high respiratory frequency: 22 breaths within 

10 seconds. 

Approx. 20:45 The official veterinarian of vet office A.S.L. Ancona arrives. 

The veterinarian tries to find a possibility to unload the horses – all of them or at least the dead one- 

but she does not succeed: 

- there is no authorized staging point in the area (the next staging points are in Perugia and 

Bari, but both are several hours away) 

- no possibility to unload at a slaughterhouse 

- no private stable can be found (owners are either not reachable or are not willing to have the 

horses unloaded at their facilities) 

- the local rendering company could take the dead horse, but only the next morning 

The boss of the transport company Maitxene also does not know any facilities in the vicinity to unload 

the horses. 

Also police tries to find an unloading place, but does not succeed. 

The veterinarian takes the following decision: 

As no unloading place is available in the vicinity the horses must continue transport to 

destination Taurisano. (The distance from place of control to destination is 650 km.) 

21:15 Driver manages to make Loretta (the mare that is stuck under the divider) stand up (she had 

been lying down for two hours) by using the electric prod (at least 10 times): he first moves the 

standing horses away from Loretta, then he use the electric prod several times on her neck in order to 

make her move backwards under the divider. When he notices that this doesn’t work, he uses the 

electric prod on her back to make her move forward. This finally works, she gets away from the divider 

and is able to stand up. 

_________________________________________________________________ 77 



22:00 One horse falls over the dead one. Driver manages to make it stand up with electric 

prod. 

23:00 Truck leaves gas station and is accompanied by police to their headquarters at highway exit 

Porto San Giorgio. 

By now the horses have been on board the truck for 24 hours (on the basis of the time of 

departure indicated on the route plan). 

23:35 Truck arrives at police headquarters at Porto San Giorgio. Police issues a fine for overloading 

(3.098 Euro). 

Friday, 28 July 2006 

00:40 (29° Celsius) 

Truck continues journey to destination (via Pescara, Foggia, Bari, Brindisi). 

03:00 (26° Celsius) 

Truck stops at emergency stop place next to highway. 

Two horses had fallen over the dead one again. Driver gets them up by using the electric prod. In 

the meantime the body of the dead horse had distended considerably. The dead horse is lying on 

his side. The rigor mortis had begun. Therefore one hind and one front leg are placed in a 90°angle 

to the body of the horse, parallel to the floor in a height of approx. 60 cm. This represents a high risk 

for the other horses as they can (and did) fall over the legs and the body of the dead horse. The smell 

of the dead horse is already very strong. 

Dead horse Davide – rigor mortis Risk for other horses 

03:45 Truck stops under a highway bridge near San Severo. Driver goes to sleep. 

04:10 We check on the horses. There are 4 horses (one of which is again the mare Loretta) 

down in the main body of the truck: 1 lies under the divider with his/her head upright; the other 3 

have their head placed on the ground. The other standing horses constantly step on them. 

Additionally one horse is down in the swan-neck with his head on the floor. The horses which are 

down are all breathing heavily. The hardly show any reaction when the others step on them or come 

very close with their legs to their heads. 

_________________________________________________________________ 78 



Horse under divider. Mare Loretta is again lying down – between the legs 

of another horse 

Another horse lying down. Head of lying horse between legs of another one. 

04:40 One of the horses that were down manages to stand up on her/his own. 

We wake the driver up. He moves the horses that are standing above the lying ones away with an 

electric prod and manages to make the lying horses stand up. 

05:10 Truck continues. 

Truck exits the highway at Bari Nord and goes direction Brindisi (after Brindisi it goes to Lecce and 

passes Maglie). 

We need to stop at a gas station. 

07:24 When trying to catch up with the truck, we find it parked next to the road, but cannot stop near 

it. We see the driver putting the electric prod inside the truck. 

09:42 (32° Celsius) Truck arrives at slaughterhouse F.lli Scarlino at Taurisano. The truck is 

weight. 

Two horses are lying down. One holds his head up the other one (again the mare Loretta) lies with 

her head on the floor. Driver makes one horse stand up with the electric prod. He does not manage to 

make the other one stand up. There is a very bad smell because of the dead horse. 

The slaughterhouse veterinarian has a look at the horses (while they are on board the truck). He 

decides that first the live horses need to be unloaded at place of destination (a stable in the vicinity) 

and afterwards the truck needs to return and leave the dead horse at the slaughterhouse to be picked 

up and destroyed. 

_________________________________________________________________ 79 


During transport the standing horses repeatedly step on the lying horses. 

10:15 Truck leaves slaughterhouse. 



Date and time of arrival at destination: 28.07.06, 10:20 

Time of completed unloading: 10:30 

Time from departure at place of police 

control at Porto San Giorgio until 

completed unloading: 10 hours 


Place of unloading: Martinese Antonio Srl., Contrada Santi Lasi, 73056 

Taurisano (Italy) 

Vet present: no 

Observations during unloading: Some minor injuries are visible, but all horses are able 

to walk out of the truck. To do so they need to walk 

over the dead horse. 

11:08 Truck leaves the stable and goes back to the slaughterhouse Scarlino. 

11:35 Unloading of the dead horse at the slaughterhouse. 

_________________________________________________________________ 80 



A. Responsibility of the official veterinarian at place of departure in France 

Deficient veterinary checks at place of departure in France 


The veterinary service at the place of departure in France (FR16400 Pyrenees-Atlantiques 

(Bayonne)) should not have authorized this transport by signing the accompanying documents 


1 Regarding accompanying documents 

Unrealistic estimated journey time – unloading at staging point not programmed 

The veterinary service in France issued a health certificate, which indicated a non realistic 

journey time. 

The veterinary service in France stamped a route plan, which did not indicate the obligatory 

unloading at a staging point during transport and which was lacking an indication of the 

estimated journey time. (please see point B.3 for details) 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 2, lit. b. and c of Council 

Directive 91/628 ECC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC. 


animals and animal products. The competent French authority did not take the 

necessary steps to ensure the integrity of certification as required in Art. 4 of Council 

Directive 96/93EC. 

2 Regarding exceeded loading density and inadequate construction of truck 

It must be presumed that the veterinary service in France was either not present during 

loading operations or did not pay the necessary attention to loading density and the 

construction of the truck. 29 horses were loaded and the loading density was clearly 

exceeded; the veterinarian, however, had authorized the loading of even more horses (31 

horses). (please see points B.2, 5 and 6 for details) 


1 Undue suffering caused 


- exceeded the permitted loading density 

- used a vehicle equipped with dividers, which presented a risk for the animals’ health 

- did not remove the dead horse from the truck as soon as possible (which resulted in the 

other horses falling over the dead one during transport) 


One horse died during transport, several horses repeatedly collapsed during transport, all 

horses were visibly and excessively stressed and exhausted. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, paragraph 1, lit. b of Council Directive 91/628 EEC 

as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC. 

_________________________________________________________________ 81 


2 Exceeded loading density 


The truck was clearly overloaded. There was not enough room for the horses to lie down and 

horses that had collapsed did not have space to stand back up and were trampled by others. 

Acc. to the minimum space requirements as indicated in the tables of Chapter VI, section A of 

Directive 91/628 EEC as amended 26 horses could have been loaded at the most – 

consequently the truck was overloaded by 3 horses. 

Considering the length of the transport (2.226 km), the high temperatures (35°C during 

daytime) and the fact that the horses were of a heavy breed, the space per horse should have 

been increased compared to the minimum requirements as stated in the table of Chapter VI, 

section A of Directive 91/628 EEC as amended, and not reduced. 


91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter I, 

section A, point 2, lit. a and Chapter VI, section A of the Annex. 

3 Obligatory unloading at a staging point not planned. Route plan not duly drawn up 


It was not programmed to unload and rest the horses for at least 24 hours at an authorized 

staging point after a maximum of 24 hours of transport. 

In the appropriate box of the route plan there was no programmed staging point indicated and 

the information about the estimated journey time was lacking completely. 

The estimated journey time indicated on the health certificate (20 hours) is entirely unrealistic 

for a transport of 2.226 km. When going non-stop at the maximum permitted speed of 80 km/h 

the journey time would have been 28 hours. However, in order to calculate the journey time 

realistically 

3.1. the time for filling in the water tanks and for watering the horses has to be added 

3.2. the time for necessary stops for the drivers (social regulations) has to be added 

3.3. situations of dense traffic, which occur especially during this period of the year, have to 

be taken into consideration. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 2, lit. b and lit. d, first indent 

of Council Directive 91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC, as well as a 


amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter VII, point 4, lit. c 

and Chapter VII, point 5 of the Annex. 

4 Exceeded maximum journey time 

The transporter did not unload the horses after a journey time of maximum 24 hours at an 

authorized staging point for the required rest period of at least 24 hours. 

The horses were transported for 35,5 hours from place of departure to place of destination. 

The journey time without the road check by police and veterinarians would have been 31 

hours, which is still 7 hours more than allowed. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 3 paragraph 1, lit. aa, second indent of Council 

Directive 91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with 

Chapter VII, point 4, lit. c and point 5 of the Annex. 

Note: It is insignificant that the transporter states that it was impossible to unload the horses 

after exactly 24 hours due to the lack of an approved staging point. It was his responsibility to 

plan the journey in such a way as not to exceed this maximum journey time, that is he should 

have then unloaded the horses, where there was still the possibility, for example at the staging 

point near Piacenza (which was on the route), even if the 24 hours of transport time had not 

been exceeded at that point. 

_________________________________________________________________ 82 


5 Inadequate partition installed 



The truck was equipped with a partition, which represented a risk for the animals’ health, as 

there was a gap between the bottom of the partitions and the floor of the truck, where animals 

can – and did in fact – remain stuck. 



point 2, lit. c of the Annex. 

6 Equines loaded on a truck with more than one deck 



section A, point 2, lit. h of the Annex. 

7 Dead horse not removed as soon as possible 

Acc. to his own statement the driver became aware of the dead horse near Modena. It was, 

however, not removed immediately, but transported over a distance of 935 km to destination 

at Taurisano. The dead horse was transported for more than 19 hours through Italy (at least 

14,5 hours transport time + 4,5 hours of police and veterinary road check). This represented a 

risk of injury for the other horses as they repeatedly fell over the dead horse. Furthermore it 

represents a sanitary risk. 

Please note: Near Piacenza, which is 100 km away from Modena, there is an approved 

staging point, where the driver could have left the dead horse. It could have been picked up 

there to be destroyed. 


91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with the Annex, 

chapter I, section A, point 8. 

1 High temperatures 

III. FURTHER ANIMAL WELFARE CONCERNS 

It became obvious that the horses suffered considerably from the high temperatures (the highest 

outside temperature during our observation was 35°C). Even when the maximum transport time of 

24 hours was not yet exceeded the horses very visibly exhausted, and several collapsed. 

Therefore we conclude that horses should not be transported on long distance at such 

high temperatures. 

2 Lack of emergency unloading places 

It became obvious once more that the lack of suitable places for emergency unloading can result 

in prolonged animal suffering. Even though the competent veterinarian and the police tried hard to 

find an adequate place near Ancona to unload the dead horse and to rest the others, it turned out 

to be impossible. 

Animals’ Angels asks the Member States to provide such emergency unloading places in 

order to enforce animal welfare during transport legislation. 

Animals’ Angels asks the European Commission to remind the Member States of their duty 

to provide such facilities. 

_________________________________________________________________ 83 


IV. OTHERS 

Clarification regarding calculation of loading density for horses 


Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. aa, first indent of Council Directive 91/628 EEC as amended requires that 

“Member States shall ensure that space allowances (loading densities) for animals at least comply 

with the figures laid down in Chapter VI of the Annex.” 

Chapter VI, section A of the Annex requires a minimum space of 1,2 m² for young horses (6-24 

months) for journeys of up to 48 hours. Furthermore, the following sentence is written under the table 

of minimum space requirements in Chapter VI, section A of the Annex: 

“These figures may vary by a maximum of 10% for adult horses and ponies and by a maximum of 

20% for young horses and foals, depending not only on the horses’ weight and size but also on their 

physical condition, the meteorological conditions and the likely journey time.” 

Animals’ Angels believes that it is self-evident that for a long-distance transport, even more when 

temperatures are high etc. the word “vary” can only mean “increase”, which means that the horses 

must be granted more space than 1,2m². 

Unfortunately several transporters and veterinarians misinterpret the legal provisions and are 

of the opinion that it is always justified to reduce space by 10% respectively 20%. Also 

regarding the transport mentioned above, the boss of the transport company was of this 

opinion as he mentioned to us over the phone. 

Animals’ Angels asks the European Commission to clarify this issue with the competent 

authorities of the Member States, so that instructions are given accordingly to local 

veterinarians and transport companies. 

signed 


_________________________________________________________________ 84 



POLAND - ITALY 

Destination 

Departure 

_________________________________________________________________ 85 


Horses from Poland to Italy, 27.07.2006 

TRANSPORT OF HORSES FROM POLAND TO ITALY 

Transport company: Autotrasporti Vitali 

27.07.2006 


Place of first contact with lorry: Slovenia, highway A1, near the exit 

of Gorizia 





Name of transport company: Autotrasporti Vitali di Vitali Rosario & C. 

Address: Calvisano Via Carpenedolo 5, 25012 Calvisano, 

Nb. INITIT03018035084 

Name of Drivers: 1 Italian driver 

License plates: AZ 794 PH/ BS 31866 

Description of the lorry: white cab, turquoise double trailer 

2. Information taken from the Health Certificate: 

Number of health certificate: INTRA.PL.2006.0013544 

Local ref.nb: 143005/059/06 


Exporter/ Sender: POL-MADI Sp.z.o., Chronowek 23 a, 26681 Oronsko 

Importer: Bottura Import Srl, Gardesana 6, 37010 Pastrengo, Italy 

Place of origin: POL-MADI Sp.z.O.o., Chronowek 23 a, 26681 Oronsko 

Place of departure: 26681 Oronsko/ Poland 

Date and time of departure: 26.07.06, 17:30 h 

Destination: Macello Olivieri, Via Gardesana 6, 37010 Pastrengo 


Route plan: indicated: yes 

Veterinary service which issued the documents: PL 14300 Szydlowiec k. Radomia 

Name of vet: Mariusz Lorenz 


Species: 27 horses 



Loading situation: The lorry is loaded with 10 adult horses, all tied in one 

direction, 2 compartments with 5 horses each. The trailer is 

loaded with 17 young horses in 2 groups, not tethered. 



Dividers: yes, but not adequate for horses 




Impression of the animals: a stallion is tethered very short next to a female horse, 

he is obviously very stressed and nervous 


_________________________________________________________________ 86 




27.07.2006, at 14:00 h, transport with polish horses passes us at the parking lot “Studenec” on the A1/ 

Slovenia. We follow. The driver does not stop at one of the staging points in Goizia or Prosecco and 

we call the freeway police of Pordenone. At 14:45 they stop the truck at the petrol station “Fratta 

Nord”, A4 direction Venezia. 

The water tank is still full and the truck is equipped with only 2 plastic water troughs. It is not likely the 

driver stopped to give water, even though it is indicated in the Route plan. 

A stallion is tied next to a mare, not separated. The dividers are fence-like (divisoria a tubo) and have 

a gap of appr. 0,4 m to the floor. 

Stallion tied very short next to a mare 

According to the police, the final destination of the horses is the slaughterhouse “Oliveri” in Pastrengo 

(near Verona), approx. 2 hours away and thus the transport will arrive at its destination within the 

allowed journey time of 24 hours. 

The police does not take any action and is not willing to give a fine regarding the non separated 

stallion. 


A. Responsibility of the official veterinarian at the place of departure in Poland 

Deficient veterinary check at the place of departure in Poland 

It must be presumed that the veterinary service at the place of departure in Szydlowiec/ Poland was 

either not present during loading operations or tolerated the loading conditions. The veterinarian 

should have ensured, that the stallion is separated from female horses. 

The importance of a veterinarian being present at the time of loading is evident. 

This represents a violation of Art.3, point 1., lit.a) and of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 1, lit. b of 

Council Directive 91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC. 


Stallion not separated from females 

The stallion should have been separated from the female horses, instead of being tethered in a way 

that causes stress and pain. 

This represents a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 1, lit. b of Council Directive 91/628 

EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter 1, section A, point 

3., lit.a) of the Annex. 


_________________________________________________________________ 87 



TRANSPORT OF HORSES FROM POLAND TO ITALY 

Transport company: VI POLAND Sp.zo.o. 

28.07.2006 


Place of first contact with lorry: highway A4, Gonars Nord, 

near Venezia, Italy 




Name of transport company: VI Poland Sp.zo.o. 

Address: Kraszewskiege 33, 43252 Golasowice/ Poland 

Name of Drivers: 2 drivers 

License plates: SPS 71 HA/ SPS 22 LW 

Description of the lorry: white cab, turquoise double trailer 

2. Information taken from the Health Certificate: 

Number of health certificate: INTRA.PL.2006.0013559 

Local ref.nb: 143005/059/06 


Exporter/ Sender: POL-MADI Sp.z.o., Chronowek 23 a, 26681 Oronsko 

Importer: Bottura Import Srl, Gardesana 6, 37010 Pastrengo, Italy 

Place of origin: POL-MADI Sp.z.O.o., Chronowek 23 a, 26681 Oronsko 

Place of departure: 26681 Oronsko/ Poland 

Date and time of departure: 27.07.06, 12.00 h 

Destination: Macello Olivieri, Via Gardesana 6, 37010 Pastrengo 


Route plan: indicated: yes 

Veterinary service which issued the documents: PL 14300 Szydlowiec k. Radomia 

Name of vet: Mariusz Lorenz 







Dividers: 2 compartments with young horses, 2 compartments with 

adult horses, adult horses are tethered 




Impression of the animals: In the first compartment of the lorry a stallion is tethered 

next to a mare, his front legs are tied together. 


_________________________________________________________________ 88 




At 12:00 h we find the transport in a traffic jam on the highway A4, near Venezia, direction west. We 

observe that a stallion is not separated from a mare. His legs are tied together. 

Soltan during transport Mercedes of the importer 

We call the police in Venezia. We have to explain very detailled who we are, why we call and what is 

the problem and eventually we are not in the area of their authority anymore. We try the police of 

Verona, who promises to stop the truck. Half an hour later the truck exits the highway north of Verona. 

In a small village, all of a sudden a black Mercedes (lic.pl. BX 234 XG) with two men inside drives 

between the truck and our car and hinders us from following. We loose sight of the truck. We notice a 

dust cloud on the left, turn left and find the truck parked near in a forest. Also the Mercedes appears 

again. We call the police again, but they say, they can not find us since we are unable to give our 

exact location. 

At 13:30 h, half an hour after the transport stopped, they continue. The truck leaves, we follow but the 

Mercedes manages to separate us again from the truck and we finally loose it. We are searching 

around in the area and find eventually the truck in the back of the slaughterhouse “Olivieri” in 

Pastrengo. Even though the slaughterhouse looks busy, with many cars parked on the parking lot, no 

one lets us in or is willing to talk with us. 

We call ASL 22 (tel: ASL 22: 0456712111) and they connect us with Dr. Fillipi (Tel: 0457170300, 

mobile: 3408718321), the responsible vet of the slaughterhouse “Olivieri”. At appr. 14:30 h Dr. Fillipi 

arrives at the slaughterhouse and we are allowed to enter. 

The horses are already unloaded into the stables, at the back of the slaughterhouse. Soltan, the cold 

blooded stallion, is tethered in a pen with other stallions and geldings. We can see deep cut wounds 

on both of his legs, giving evidence of agonizing transport conditions. A black stallion has a deep cut 

wound on the nasal bone, apparently caused by a rope or head collar. 

Cut wounds from ties Cut wound from rope or head collar 

_________________________________________________________________ 89 



Meanwhile the driver of the Mercedes, obviously the importer of the horses, appears at the 

slaughterhouse. 

We discuss the further procedure with Dr. Fillipi. He says, that he is going to write a letter of complaint 

to the polish veterinary service, who authorized the transport. 

We require, that the transporter needs to be penalized, since the transport conditions caused injuries 

to 2 of the horses. 


A. Responsibility of the official veterinarian at the place of departure in Poland 

Deficient veterinary check at the place of departure in Poland 

It must be presumed that the veterinary service at the place of departure in Szydlowiec/ Poland was 

either not present during loading operations or tolerated the loading conditions. The veterinarian 

should have ensured, that the stallion is separated from female horses instead of being immobilized 

through ties. The importance of a veterinarian being present at the time of loading is evident again. 

This represents a violation of Art.3, point 1., lit.a) and of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 1, lit. b of 

Council Directive 91/628 EEC as amended by Council Directive 95/29 EC. 



animals was ignored by the transporter. 



- tied the front legs of a stallion, which in addition caused injuries on his legs 

- tethered another stallion in a way, that caused a deep cut wound on the nasal bone. 

It is irrelevant, that stallions are more difficult to transport. If the transporter is not able to prepare 

suitable provisions for their care and the safety of the other horses, he can not load and transport 

these animals. Under no circumstances an animal should have his/ her legs tied while being 

transported. . 



2, lit. b) and f.) of the Annex. 

2. Stallion not separated from females 

The stallion should have been kept separately from female horses. 



3., lit.a) of the Annex. 

III. Animal welfare concerns 

Beside the fact, that the ropes caused physical injuries to the 2 stallions, it must be revealed, that it is 

an extremely stressful situation for horses being immobilized in this way on a journey of 25 hours. 


_________________________________________________________________ 90 



ROMANIA - ITALY 

_________________________________________________________________ 91 


Horses from Romania to Italy 01.08.2006 

TRANSPORT OF HORSES FROM ROMANIA TO ITALY 

Transport company: Macellari 

01.08.2006 


Place of first contact with lorry: Italy, motorway A 4, near Venecia 

Distance between place of departure and destination is: 1.723 km 23 (Arad to Ruvo di Puglia) 



Name of transport company: Macellari 

Address: Italy 

Name of Drivers: 2 Hungarian Drivers 

License plates: FLK 084 (Hungary) 

Description of the lorry: white cab, grey one-compartment trailer 

3. Information taken from the Route plan: 

Transport company: Macellari Transporti S.a.s., Str. Aeroporto S. 

Egidio, Petrignano d’Assisi, Perugia (Italy) 


Place of departure Mandruloc/ Romania 


Time of departure: 16:00 h 

Place of destination: Macelli Carni per te srl, 

Via dott. Loiodice 76/78, 

Ruvo di Puglia, Italy 


Itinerary: Nadlac (31.07., 17:40 h), Redicz (01.08., 6:23- 

7:30 h), Gorizia 

Planned unloading / stops: no unloading planned 

Veterinarian, who issued the documents: Dr. Rusu Dumutru from Mandruloc (Arad) 







Dividers: horses are loaded in 3 compartments, 2 dividers placed, 

inadequate divider for horses, 




Impression of the animals: All of the horses are visibly exhausted. One white mare – 

Anka has a swollen left hind leg in the area of the tarsal junction. Her breathing is not normal. She 

uses abdominal mussels to breath. One young brown foal, Ovidiu, who was lying down during 

transport, is very exhausted. After he drank some water, he immediately lied down again. He is 

apathetic and has very red eyelids. 


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At 15:30 h we stop the truck at a parking lot on the highway A4, near Venecia, direction west. 

23 horses are loaded in 3 compartments, one compartment with adult horses, 2 compartments with 

young horses. None of the horses is tied on. The horses look very exhausted and while the truck 

stopps, one of the young horses is lying down. 

Exhausted horse lying down, Very dangerous divider for the transport of horses 

We explain to the 2 hungarian drivers that they should have unloaded at Gorizia, since the allowed 

journey time of 24 hours wll be soon exceeded and they still have 800 km (acc. to ADAC Route 

Planer) to drive. They call immediately their boss, who tells us on the phone the horses will be 

unloaded at his staging point near Perugia, which is supposed to be around 300 km away. We agree, 

since the other option is to send the transport back to the staging point in Gorizia, which is 140 km 

away, but there is a huge traffic jam into that direction. 

We are following the truck to the staging point. Instead of taking the highway, the drivers choose the 

E45, direction Ravenna to the south. The road is very bad and absolutely inadequate for the transport 

of animals. 

From the area of Bologna the drivers take a windy road through the hills, instead of the freeway to 

Perugia. At 19:30, before we are entering the freeway the driver stops to check the horses. One young 

chestnut coloured horse, Ovidiu, is lying down, the head between the hooves of another horse, the 

eyes wide open. 

Ovidiu trying to get on his feet, very red eyelid 

Before we can stop him, one of the drivers on the opposite side of the truck is using an electrical 

prodder on Ovidiu. The horse jumps on his feet and the drivers continue. At 21:00 h we arrive at the 

EU staging point CE 13/PS of the company Macellari. We are absolutely shocked, since the place 

looks totally run down. 

_________________________________________________________________ 93 



There is no electricity and no running water at the stables. According to the drivers this is a 

consequence of construction works at the adjacent airport. With an emergency light the horses are 

unloaded into the dark stables and only because of the experience of the drivers the stressed horses 

enter these dark and very narrow pens. 

01.08.06, 21:15 h: Horse stable at the staging point CE 13/PS 

02.08.06: Only small horses can lie down in these pens Adult or big horses can not lie down 

The stables consist of single pens, made out of metal bars. The pens are so narrow, that the horses 

can not turn around and only small/ young horses are able to lie down and rest. 

Some of the bigger horses are desperately trying to stick their heads between the metal bars, in order 

to reach the water. Without success. None of the workers or drivers is paying any attention to the fact, 

that 4 horses are not able to drink. We have to tell the workers to remove the metal bars in front of 

these horses and eventually they were able to drink. All the horses are extremely thirsty. 

The horses are offered only straw, which does not have any nutritive effect. 

02.08.06: Ovidiu, exhausted and sick, does not eat 

_________________________________________________________________ 94 



On the 02.08.2006, at 21:00 h, exactly 24 hours after the horses were unloaded the official vet arrives 

to check on the horses. His name is Dr. Bigarini (mobile phone +393402279600) he is from A.S.L. 

Assisi/n°2 Bastia Umbria. 

Since the owner does not allow us into the stables, we ask Dr. Bigarini about the condition of the 

horses. He says, he checked all the horses and also saw the swelling on Ancas´ hind leg. He looked 

closely at Ovidiu and according to him, both horses are “not in the best shape”, but fit for traveling. He 

also checks the truck and gives his okay for the horses to be loaded. 

Since the drivers refuse to show us the Health Certificates, we called the veterinarians in Ruvo di 

Puglia and asked for copies of the accompanying documents. We have not received anything yet, but 

got the following information on request: 

Importer of the horses is the company “La 3 C”, Mr. Dino (Mob.nb. 00393488267581) 

The nb. of the export stable in Romania is CCE 06 AR. 


A. Responsibility of the official veterinarian at the place of departure in Romania 

Deficient veterinary check at the place of departure in Romania 

The veterinary service at the place of departure in Mandruloc, Romania should not have authorized 

this transport by signing the accompanying documents, since the transport contravened existing 

legislation. 

The veterinary service at the place of departure in Romania issued a Route plan, which indicated a 

non realistic journey time. Given the fact, that the distance between the place of departure and the 

place of destination is 1.723 km (acc. to ADAC route planer), the indicated journey time of 24 hours is 

not realistic and the unloading at a staging point should have been planned. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 2, lit.b and lit. c, d.), i.), ii.) and f.) as 

well as a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1.), aa.) second indent of Council directive 91/EEC as 


Furthermore it represents a violation of Council Directive 96/93 EC on the certification of 

animals and animal products. The competent Romanian authority did not take all the necessary 




animals was ignored by the transporter. 




- did not give water to the horses every 8 hours 

At the time of the control all horses were visibly stressed and exhausted. 



2. Obligatory unloading at staging point not planned – Route plan not duly drawn up regarding 

journey times and rest periods 

The estimated journey time of 24 hours on the Route plan is unrealistic (please see point 3.). The 

transporter should have programmed to unload and rest the horses for 24 hours at an authorized 

staging point after a maximum journey time of 24 hours. 

_________________________________________________________________ 95 



This constitutes a violation of Art. 5, section A, paragraph 2, lit.b and lit.d, first indent of 


of Art. 3. paragraph 1, lit. aa), second indent of Council directive 91/EEC as amended by 

Council directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter VII, point 4, lit. c and point 5 of the 

annex. 


At the time we stopped the transport near Venice at 15:30 h, the horses were already 23 ½ hours on 

transport. From there, they still had 800 km to the destination in Ruvo di Puglia, which was a minimum 

of 12 hours with the dense traffic at that time. 

However, the transporter, knowing he would exceed the maximum journey time by far and being 

aware there are no other staging points on his route, did not unload the horses at the authorized 

staging point of Gorizia for the required rest period of 24 hours. Even though he passed Gorizia 

approximately 2 hours before we stopped the transport. 

This constitutes a violation of Art.3, paragraph 1, lit. aa, second indent of Council directive 

91/EEC as amended by Council directive 95/29 EC in connection with Chapter VII, point 4, lit. c 

and point 5 of the annex. 

4. Watering intervals not respected 

The vehicle was not equipped with a water system, neither with water buckets. Accordingly the horses 

did not receive water every 8 hours. 



paragraph 2.), lit. d.) and Chapter VII, 48.Watering and feeding intervals, paragraph 4., lit. b.) of 

the Annex. 

5. Inadequate dividers used 

The fence-like dividers placed in the vehicle could cause injuries to the animals since there was a 

huge gap between the divider and the floor of the trailer. 

This constitutes a violation of Art 5, paragraph 1, lit b Council Directive 91/628 ECC as 

amended by Council Directive 95/29. 

III. Others 

The staging point CE 13/PS is still authorized according to the updated list of EU Staging points, from 

21.08.2006. 

The competent authority shall suspend the approval until the stables are in compliance with 

the provisions of Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/97 concerning community criteria for 

staging points. 


_________________________________________________________________ 96 



TRANSPORT OF HORSES FROM ROMANIA TO ITALY 

Transport company: Macellari 

02.08.2006 

Please note that Animals’ Angels has received reliable information about the following transport, but 

has not physically checked it. 

Date and time of first observation: 02.08.06, approx. 15.00 o’clock 

Place of first observation: Italy, Palmanova 

Transport company: Macellari (Italy) 

License plates: Hungarian license plate on the cab: FLK 082 

Italian license plate of the articulated trailer: AA 31956 

Places of departure: Arad, Romania 

Place of destination: Slaughterhouse Ruvo di Puglia, Italy 

Total distance from place of 

departure to destination: 1.699 km 24 

Time the transport effectively took 

according to AA`s observation: When the transport was checked by Italian police the journey 

time amounted to 24 hours. The remaining distance to the 

place of destination was still 824 km. 

Programmed staging points 

(indicated on route plan): not indicated 

Unloading at staging point carried out: Yes, but only after the intervention of the Italian police and 

veterinarians. 

Injured/ill/dead animals: 

One mare in state of extreme exhaustion; badly swollen legs and face; she is slaughtered during 

transport. 

Taken measures by the Italian authorities: 

- at least one fine of 3.098 Euro 

- emergency unloading of horses at staging point Gorizia (Italy) 

- when the horses are reloaded (after the rest at the staging point) the badly ill mare is kept at 

the staging point as she is not fit to continue transport. The mare is later slaughtered at a 

nearby slaughterhouse. 

VIOLATIONS 

1. Deficient veterinary checks at place of departure in Romania 


3. Obligatory unloading at staging point not planned 

4. Exceeded journey times 

5. Deficient accompanying documents 

24 Acc. to “ADAC Routenplaner”, edition 2005/2006 ( Route: Arad (Romania) – Hungary – Slovenia – Ruvo di Puglia (Italy)) 

_________________________________________________________________ 97 



GREECE - ITALY 


98


Horses from Greece to Italy 20./21.April 2006 

TRANSPORT OF HORSES AND DONKEYS FROM GREECE TO 

ITALY 

20./21.04.2006 

Animals´Angels observer: Annette Winter, Iris Baumgärtner 


Place of first contact with lorry: Port of Igoumenitsa/ Greece 

Distance between place of departure 

and destination is: Trikala to Igoumenitsa is 180 km 

(acc.ADAC Routen Planer), with a lorry min of 

4 hours. The ferry from Igoumenitsa to Brindisi 

takes 7 hours. Brindisi to Torre Santa 

Susanna is 28 km, another hour acc. ADAC 

Routen Planer. 



Name of transporter: Guiseppe Venerito 

Name of Drivers: Guiseppe Venerito, name of second driver unknown 

License plates: BL 870 JZ (lorry and trailer) 

Description of the lorry: white cab, red lorry and trailer 


2.1. Information taken from the Health Certificate: 

Number of health certificate: No.2/ 20.04.2006 

Local competent authority: Veterinary Service Trikala 

Number of animals: 29 equines (23 horses, 5 donkeys, 1 mule) for slaughter 

Exporter/ Sender: Sotirios Fasoulas, Trikala, Greece 

Importer: EUROBEST S.R.L., 

Via 20, S.Vito Dei Normanni, Torre S. Susanna (BR), Italy 

Place of origin: Trikala 

Place of departure: Trikala 

Date and time of departure: not indicated 

Destination: Brindisi, Italy 


Veterinary Service Trikala/ GR 

Name of veterinarian: S. Ztrivas 

2.2. Information on transport taken from the Route plan: 

Transport company: not indicated 

Number of animals: 29 equines 

Place of departure Trikala, Greece 


Time of departure: 14:00 h 

Place of destination: Brindisi, Italy 

Estimated time of journey: not indicated 

Itinerary: Trikala, Igoumenitsa, Brindisi 

Planned unloading / stops: no stops for watering indicated 


Veterinary Service of Trikala. 

99




Species: 23 horses (2 stallions), 5 donkeys, 1 mule 



Watering devices: one water bucket 

Bedding: ok, straw bedding 

Partitions: no 


Injured animals: not seen 

Sick animals: dark brown horse blind on right eye, one stallion collapsed, 

drivers got him up after 10 min (video evidence) 


Problems observed: horses not separated from donkeys, equines not separated 

according to their seize, 2 stallions not separated from mares, 

2 stallions tethered, all other equines not tethered 

4. Observations/ information: 

20.04.2006 

We found the truck in the Port of Igoumenitsa at 22:00 h. At that time one horse was caught with its 

hind legs in the rope of a tethered stallion. Thus the stallion had to endure standing in an unnatural 

position, with his head almost down on the floor and bend in an 90° angle. The rope was fixed to a 

closing gate at the loading ramp and there was no access to that horses from outside. The drivers 

could not be found in the Port. 

We informed the Port Police of Igoumentisa, who tried to get hold of an official veterinarian, but no one 

was available. The police searched for the drivers and at approximately 23:30 h the drivers arrived. 

They did not show any motivation to fix the problem with the 2 confined horses and only after police 

and we insisted, they separated the trailer from the lorry to be able to open the ramp of the lorry and 

untied the stallion. He immediately collapsed and only got up after the drivers screamed, hit and tried 

to hoist him up by the tail (no foto, but video evidence). He was tied then on the outside barns of the 

truck. 

The second stallion tethered in the trailer was very nervous and tried to kick the donkeys several 

times. As a result all equines loaded in the trailer were highly stressed. 

21.04.2006 

At 1:30 h (Greek time) the lorry went on the ferry “Elli T.” to Brindisi, where we arrived at 8:00 h (Italian 

time). We asked the Port Police of Brindisi to stop the lorry and informed the official Veterinarians of 

the ASL Brindisi, who arrived shortly after being informed by us. 

At the time of inspection in Brindisi the horses looked exhausted, but none of them was injured. The 

veterinarians wrote a “Sanctione verbale” and a fine will be given according to the violations. 


1.1. Deficient veterinary check at the place of departure in Trikala 

The veterinary service at the place of departure in Trikala/ GR should not have authorized this 

transport, since it contravened existing legislation. 

100



It must be presumed, that the veterinarian did not pay attention if, suitable provisions have been made 

for the animals care and their welfare during the journey. 

This constitutes a violation of Art. 3, paragraph 1, lit. (b), of Council directive 91/628/EEC as 

amended by Council directive 95/29 EC and is also not in accordance with Directive 

90/426/EEC, Art.7, paragraph (1). 

1.2. Regarding the Health Certificate 

The health certificate is missing a chapter concerning the fitness for transport. 

The Health Certificate being used is not in compliance with Council Directive 90/426/EEC 

(consolidated text), Annex C, Chapter IV, point 6. 


Undue suffering was caused to the animals due to inadequate transport conditions (see 3.-5.). 



3. Partitions not placed 

For journeys exceeding 8 hours the vehicle must be fitted with partitions so that separate 

compartments can be created. The vehicle was not fitted with partitions. 

This constitutes a violation of Art.5, paragraph 1, lit. c of Council Directive 91/628/EEC as 

amended by Council directive 95/29 EC, Annex, Chapter I, point 2, lit. a. and Chapter VII, point 

3, fifth indent. The vehicle and the loading conditions also do not comply with the Art.1 of 

Council Regulation (EC) No 411/98, Annex 5. 

4. Animals tied in a way that can cause injury or strangulation 

It should be common sense not to tie single horses together with equines untied, since it must lead to 

problems. Here the 2 stallions were tied between non tied horses and donkeys. As a result, one 

stallion got caught in the rope and had to stand in an unnatural position for an indefinite time. It must 

have caused stress and pain, since the stallion collapsed after the rope has been cut by the drivers. 

This constitutes a violation of Art.5, paragraph 1, lit. b.) of Council Directive 91/628/EEC as 

amended by Council directive 95/29 EC, in connection with the Annex, Chapter I, point 2, lit. f. 

5. No segregation according to species or stallions and females 

Horses and donkeys were transported in the same means of transport without any segregation. Also 2 

stallions were loaded without separation from mares. 

This constitutes a violation of Art.5, paragraph 1, lit. b.) of Council Directive 91/628/EEC as 

amended by Council directive 95/29 EC, in connection with the Annex, Chapter I, point 3, lit. (a) 

101

6. Photo evidence 

Horses and donkeys, not separated acc. species or size Injury, blindness on one eye 

One horse tied, others loose, no partitions Horses and donkeys not segregated 

sign. Iris Baumgärtner 



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Transport route - Animals' Angels e.V.

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