PETA Calls Out Inhumane Transport of Pigs Between Bulgaria and Georgia

PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is an international non-governmental organization that promotes animal rights and welfare. The organization has often been criticized for its extreme advertisement and public information campaigns.

On August 29, PETA sent a letter from its Stuttgart office to the European Commission’s Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner, Georgia’s Ministers of Justice and Agriculture, and Bulgaria’s Ministers of Justice and Agriculture, Food, and Forestry. The letter appealed to the respective leaders to take action against what they call “illegal animal transports on ferries from Varna, Bulgaria, to Batumi, Georgia” in July of this year.

PETA Germany’s lawyer and in-house council, Christian Arleth, explains in the letter:

“We received photographs and a video from a person traveling on a ferry from Varna, Bulgaria, to Batumi, Georgia, from 24/07/2018 to 28/07/2018. On that ferry were several lorries with hundreds, if not thousands, of pigs on board...the animals spent five days within the lorries on the deck of the ferry...During that time, the animals got no supply of water, food, or medicine...temperatures inside the lorries were up to 60 degrees Celsius...every day around 40 pigs died due to the lack of supply of their basic needs. They were disposed [of by] throwing them overboard into the sea, some of them still alive.”

PETA says a source on board the ferry reported the situation.  

If true, the actions constitute a violation of European Union law – regulation EC No. 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations. As Bulgaria is an EU member country, it is obliged to ensure EU transportation laws are followed on shipments that begin in Bulgaria, even if the destination is outside the EU.

“It would have been the duty of veterinarian authorities of Bulgaria and Georgia to ensure the lawfulness of the transport before, during, and after the ferry took off [from] the port of Varna,” writes Arleth. He notes that PETA’s contact on the ferry claims that such live animal transport has been occurring between Varna and Batumi for at least eight years. The letter accuses Bulgarian and Georgian authorities of having failed to observe and enforce the relevant laws, and implores them to take action against the perpetrators and to prevent the continuation of the behavior.

The letter was sent with a DVD of photos and video footage of the abuse.

By Samantha Guthrie

Photo: PETA