'We could smell the boat approaching': the grim truth on animal exports

Broken bones and other injuries are common for sheep and cattle held on ships for weeks in cramped pens. Photojournalist Jo-Anne McArthur tracked the 22,000 arrivals on one boat in Israel's Haifa portHundreds of thousands of live animals are transported each year on ships from Australia and Europe to the Middle East. The route from Australia to Israel is particularly long - the journey is three weeks at sea, where cattle and sheep are often kept in cramped pens for the duration.It's estimated this year Israel will import 114,040 animals (cattle and sheep) from Australia, and 409,123 sheep and 169,991 cattle from Europe. Though these figures are lower than the previous year, in general live imports have been on the rise. Israel is expected to import 700,000 live animals this year - up from 200,000 in 2012. Continue reading...