PET HORSES TRANSPORTED FOR SLAUGHTER IN BELGIUM
Midlands Horse Trader David Shakespeare buys former pet horses
outgrown by children, for transport to a Belgian slaughterhouse often
paying as little as £100 per beast. He waits until he has acquired enough
horses to make a profitable trip to Belgium where they wait in long
queues to be killed. According to MAFF, Shakespeare is not breaking any
laws. (News of the World, 3rd September 1995)
AVERAGE OF 460 HORSES LEAVE THE UK EACH WEEK
In answer to a query about whether horses are going through Dover without
the appropriate paperwork, MAFF has advised that approximately 3000 (per
load of 1-9 horses) licences per annum are issued. Therefore, an average
of 460 horses are leaving the UK each week, three-quarters via Dover, and
the rest through Portsmouth, Harwich and Hull. (Animal Protester's
Bulletin, 26th September 1995)
Lorry loads of 10-30 horses should continue to be treated with
suspicion.