Extensive media coverage has followed a major investigation which revealed that much of the horsemeat on sale in Belgium, Holland and France originates from Latin America where conditions have been found to be “cruel and barbaric”.
Operating undercover, Ecostorm investigators, working on behalf of a trio of NGOs – Gaia, One Voice and Wakker Dier – gained unique access to slaughterhouses and horse markets across Mexico and Brazil, where they documented lengthy journeys, cruel loading techniques and poor husbandry and conditions including shocking scenes of dead and dying horses.
Evidence obtained also included footage showing crippled horses being sold at markets, and young foals being loaded into trucks for the slaughterhouse. According to campaigners, the footage will shock and disgust viewers and raises serious questions about the little-known growing trade in horsemeat from Latin America to the European Union.
For further information and to view footage from the investigation see:
http://www.gaia.be/en/control.php?&topgroupname=&groupname=&subgroupname=
http://www.one-voice.fr/fr/article/chevaux-voyage-au-bout-de-l-enfer-au-bresil-et-au-mexique
Ecostorm: the world's leading ethical investigative agency 