INFO MIDI LIBRE. What the INRA study, conducted over the past three years, reveals about animal welfare on board cargo ships leaving Sète

Les scientifiques de l’Inra ont mené une étude depuis trois ans. – DR

Découvrez en avant-première les conclusions d’une étude de l’Inra de Montpellier, menée depuis trois ans, sur l’état de santé du bétail exporté depuis le port de Sète.

“We knew this empirically when, on week-long journeys to Turkey, we observed that livestock gained weight during the journey. Now, we know it objectively and scientifically: animal welfare is respected on boats leaving from Sète”. This is not an empty statement by Laurent Trémoulet, the boss of Sepab (Société d’exploitation du parc à bestiaux), the European leader in the transit and storage of live livestock. And – above all – he is not the one who says it. These are the conclusions of an objective and scientific study conducted by the INRA in Montpellier over the last three years. A study – a world first – that the institution will publish in the coming weeks.

Answering legitimate questions

We know that the subject of livestock transport by sea is one of the concerns of several animal rights associations, some of whose representatives express their opposition from time to time in front of the entrance to the port of Sète. So “to answer the questions that people are legitimately asking”, the boss of the “farm” of the port area – the only global animal reception center certified since 2019 by the ISO34700 standard referring to animal welfare management – approached INRA so that it could conduct an independent study on the subject.

Several parameters analyzed

“We worked on a sample of 250 heifers from the time they left their farm until they arrived in the Maghreb”, comments Lucie Bouscatel who established the protocol with the scientists. With three main areas of research and data collection: behavior, physiology and the internal functioning of livestock. The animals concerned were therefore equipped with sensors measuring their ingestion, rumination and standing or lying down times. In addition, urine samples to detect the stress hormone were taken at regular intervals. Finally, on board the cargo ships, there were measurements of humidity levels, air exchange rates and ammonia levels (produced by animals when they are uncomfortable and keep moving).

A management software under construction

It turns out that even during the first test trip, the various data showed that the cattle had not suffered. “If these animals ruminate for 12 hours in good environmental conditions and have enough straw to lie down on like on farms, there is no reason for things to go badly”, Lucie Bouscatel summarizes. As the measurements were taken, the work was refined. So much so that software, called Export Well, is being built to guide crews according to external conditions.

“For example, we have set up a special protocol when passing through the Strait of Gibraltar where the humidity level increases sharply, illustrates Laurent Trémoulet. For the moment, we have someone from Sepab on board each of the departing boats. It collects data and guides the crew if there are any parameter changes to be made".

Next step: certification of the tool

Once the results of the study are published, the objective of the Société d'exploitation du parc à cattle de Sète will be to have the crossing management tool certified to mark the quality of the work carried out from the singular island. Work that is already underway. Indeed, “if there is no animal welfare, there is no trade, insists Laurent Trémoulet. If animals are poorly treated or arrive in poor condition at their destination, it is a financial loss. And no one has an interest in that”. And Lucie Bouscatel concludes: “the main factor of animal welfare on board is not the ship, it is the man”.

I subscribe to read the rest