Live exports outside the EU. The secret is out

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/772/380/331/

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To: president.juncker@ec.europa.eu ,

Cc: franck.proust@europarl.europa.eu ; jonas.fernandez@europarl.europa.eu ; gerard.deprez@europarl.europa.eu ; elena.valenciano@europarl.europa.eu ; izaskun.bilbaobarandica@europarl.europa.eu ; javi.lopez@europarl.europa.eu ; juancarlos.girautavidal@europarl.europa.eu ; zoltan.balczo@europarl.europa.eu ; mara.bizzotto@europarl.europa.eu ; mario.borghezio@europarl.europa.eu ; marie-christine.boutonnet@europarl.europa.eu ; silvia.costa@europarl.europa.eu ; marielle.desarnez@europarl.europa.eu ; joseinacio.faria@europarl.europa.eu ; charles.goerens@europarl.europa.eu ; iveta.grigule@europarl.europa.eu ; takis.hadjigeorgiou@europarl.europa.eu ; daniel.hannan@europarl.europa.eu ; petr.jezek@europarl.europa.eu ; karin.kadenbach@europarl.europa.eu ; barbara.kappel@europarl.europa.eu ; jeppe.kofod@europarl.europa.eu ; bela.kovacs@europarl.europa.eu ; alexandergraf.lambsdorff@europarl.europa.eu ; patrick.lehyaric@europarl.europa.eu ; gilles.lebreton@europarl.europa.eu ; joerg.leichtfried@europarl.europa.eu ; philippe.loiseau@europarl.europa.eu ; georg.mayer@europarl.europa.eu ; valentinas.mazuronis@europarl.europa.eu ; angelika.mlinar@europarl.europa.eu ; bernard.monot@europarl.europa.eu ; alessandra.moretti@europarl.europa.eu ; krisztina.morvai@europarl.europa.eu ; jean-luc.melenchon@europarl.europa.eu ; ulrike.mueller@europarl.europa.eu ; franz.obermayr@europarl.europa.eu ; florian.philippot@europarl.europa.eu ; giuseppina.picierno@europarl.europa.eu ; evelyn.regner@europarl.europa.eu ; olga.sehnalova@europarl.europa.eu ; neoklis.sylikiotis@europarl.europa.eu ; evzen.tosenovsky@europarl.europa.eu ; hans.vanbaalen@europarl.europa.eu ; harald.vilimsky@europarl.europa.eu ; josef.weidenholzer@europarl.europa.eu ; jan.zahradil@europarl.europa.eu ; tatjana.zdanoka@europarl.europa.eu ,

Subject: Live exports outside the EU. The secret is out

To :

Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker,
Head of the European Commission and the Commissioners for Food Safety, Trade, and Agriculture    

Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200

1049 Brussels

Belgium

Dear Sir:

As you will be aware, when EU animals are exported live to countries outside the EU they are no longer protected by European animal welfare law.

EU data makes it look like this trade doesn't exist. No EU country reports live exports to the Gaza Strip or anywhere else in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). But, according to figures Compassion obtained from the Israeli authorities, in the first 10 months of 2014 alone, 27,000 European animals crossed into the OPT.

Compassion in World Farming launched an investigation when they received a tip-off about a hidden trade in European farm animals. Their Investigation Unit found a trade in cattle from the EU being sent alive into war-torn Gaza to be slaughtered. The infrastructure in Gaza means that the slaughterhouses are incredibly basic. There's no proper restraint equipment, and the workers appear to have no training in correct slaughter practice. Animals are beaten, tied up and have their throats stabbed and hacked at while they are fully conscious. 
The cattle desperately fight to stay standing even once their throats are cut, but once they collapse they endure seconds, even minutes, of agony as workers continue to hack at their throats.These animals are extremely vulnerable to terrible abuse and cruel treatment.
The truth is this isn’t exactly a secret anyone is trying to hide. It’s just that when animals are exported live out of the EU, anything could happen to them. No government official really knows where the animals go, how they are treated, or how they are killed.
Once animals leave the EU, the European Commission washes their hands of them.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff_AWcm-1So&feature=player_embedded
Live exports to Gaza (Censored)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7OUU6frFTI&feature=player_embedded
Live exports to Gaza (Uncensored)
http://www.banliveexport.com/gaza-files


I am appalled that the Commission allows such a trade to continue. In recent correspondence with Compassion, the head of the European Commission said that although EU law states that 'full regard should be paid to animal welfare', that doesn't apply to animals being traded.


The Commission must take urgent action to put a stop to this suffering.
Other animal trades such as seal products and dog and cat fur have been stopped on the grounds of ethics, and I urge you to take the same action here.


Sincerely: