Allowing livestock ship to dock in Cape Town was humane thing to do, says port manager

Source: EWN Traffic
Author: Melikhaya Zagagana

CAPE TOWN - The manager of the Port of Cape Town said allowing the livestock carrier, Al Kuwait, to dock at South African shores was the humane thing to do.

Port Manager Rajesh Dana said the welfare and well-being of the animals was more important to ensure a comfortable journey.

The ship, which was transporting 19,000 cattle and had been at sea for eight days, was travelling from Brazil when it made an emergency stop at Cape Town Harbour.

A stench that came out of the vessel drew a massive public reaction as some of the animals were found with injuries while lying in their waste.

READ: NSPCA reiterates stance on transport of animals by seas after livestock ship docks in Cape Town

Dana said impounding the ship would have been a prolonged legal process.

"That would have been an extremely complex initiative to implement, understanding not only the fact that there would be legal processes that we would had to follow - and also understating that we would have done a comprehensive assessment of the risk of disembarking those animals on to South African land."

Dana added that the vessel had left Cape Town and was on its way to Iraq.