Cattle ship blamed for Cape Town stench leaves for Iraq
An animal welfare organization has confirmed that the cattle ship, blamed for causing a foul odor enveloping Cape Town, has departed for Iraq.
The vessel, named Al Kuwait, arrived at the city’s harbor from Brazil on Sunday to load feed for its cargo of 19,000 cows. However, residents quickly began complaining about a “nauseating” smell emanating from the ship.
The NSPCA (National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) conducted an assessment of the cattle on board the livestock carrier and described the conditions as “abhorrent,” citing an “extreme build-up of feces and urine.”
In a statement released on Tuesday, the NSPCA reported that the cows had been confined to the ship for over two weeks, with many of them “forced to rest in pools of their waste.”
During inspections conducted between Sunday and Tuesday, the NSPCA discovered “diseased and injured” cattle. Eight had to be euthanized due to their injuries, while others were found dead onboard.
The organization emphasized that this incident underscores the inhumane nature of the live export of animals by sea, labeling it as a “gruesome and outdated practice” that inflicts unnecessary suffering on sentient beings.
The NSPCA repeated its call for a total ban on live cattle transport via sea “once and for all”.
One resident of Cape Town, Lerato Bashing, described the smell emanating from the Al Kuwait on Monday as the “worst stench I have ever encountered”.
She said the stench was so bad it felt “stuck in the back of my throat like a bad aftertaste”.
Another said the “overwhelming” odour of the ship “smelled as bad as one you’d imagine and I was put off breathing”.
