Spain has begun culling nearly 900 cattle that have been held on a livestock transport ship for over two months. In the port of Escombreras, a large tent has been erected next to the ship to euthanize the animals and dump the carcasses into containers.
There is no certainty whether the cows are actually infected with bluetongue, a non-contagious viral disease affecting ruminants.
On Friday, a court in Madrid rejected an appeal by animal rights organizations against the decision to cull the animals. Authorities say the owners of the cargo ship failed to respond in time to a ministerial order to dispose of the animals. More than eleven hundred other Spanish cows still on board another transport ship in the Mediterranean face the same fate.
The cattle were shipped from Cartagena in December, initially destined for Turkey. But both ships were unable to dock because Turkey and Libya refused to allow the animals ashore due to rumors of bluetongue infection.
Other sources report that the livestock was denied entry because of missing documents certifying freedom from bluetongue, but Spain says the animals were exported with proper health permits.
The first ship returned to the port of Cartagena on February 25, where it remained with the cattle aboard. Veterinarians judged the animals unfit for renewed transport to another country. Furthermore, responsibility for the cargo was no longer clear.
"I cannot explain it," Syrian ship captain Nabil Mohamad told Spanish media. "I have been doing this for 25 years and something like this has never happened to me," he said. The nightmare began upon arrival at the port of Iskenderun, when Turkish authorities rejected the cargo since the documentation did not clearly prove the cattle were bluetongue-free.
The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture states that "the transport was covered at the time of departure by certification from the Spanish veterinary authorities, which guarantees the good health of the animals."
However, according to the shipowner, there was a "mess" with the health certificates. The certificates indicated that the animals originated from the province of Aragon, where a case of bluetongue was recorded last year.