The brown eyes of lamb 0338 peek through the bars of the truck. The heat gives a moment of relief. Its existence has changed from a well-cared-for field to a ship where it will be crammed. Spain's animal rights protection laws are among the best in the world. Here, efforts are made to minimize the pain and torture of the sacrifice. All of this is shattered when they reach the port and are about to head to a ruthless destination. Lamb 0338 will travel by ship, under conditions that would not be allowed in Europe, on the way to the great slaughter of Eid al-Adha. Spanish lambs that are treated with care by farmers here are sent to the worst of hells. Tortured in Muslim countries.
At the port of Cartagena, the ships that will transport them arrive. Many have changed flags, others have changed their purpose —previously dedicated to transporting cars—, others lack sufficient ventilation. All of this is reported by the German-Swiss organization Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF), whose informants are infiltrated and report what happens inside. Another part of them monitors what happens from different points. They use long-range cameras, drones, to expose what happens to these lambs that God and man have abandoned to their fate when they board the ship.
The gruesome images of Eid al-Adha are repeated year after year, although the date changes each time. This year, the celebration will be from the night of Thursday, June 5, 2025, to Friday, June 6, 2025. The also-called Feast of Sacrifice is celebrated by 1.3 billion Muslims, and millions of lambs are slaughtered —in most cases— under conditions that would not be allowed in Europe.
It is carried out in homage to Ibrahim, who was going to sacrifice his son Ismael, obeying a divine command. This was before God stopped him by exchanging a lamb for the boy's life. Bearing a notable resemblance to the biblical story of Abraham and Isaac, even painted by Caravaggio, in Catholicism, it has been forgotten as a ritual. In Muslim tradition, it is also known as Aíd al-Kabir or the Grand Feast. Even Muslims themselves come to see it as an aberration. Egyptian activist and poet Fatima Naut denounced the horror in Crónica a few years ago. She described it as "the greatest massacre committed by human beings." She said this at great personal risk.
Sequence of the last days of a Spanish lamb. From a well-cared-for farm to the truck.ANIMAL WELFARE FOUNDATION
Trucks continue to arrive. The lambs look with open eyes. They bleat loudly. They look at the camera with curiosity and anguish. This group is crammed on the way to Algeria, mainly. This is the new destination for these animals, which, we can confirm, have made the journey from farms where European regulations are respected. But everything changes once they board the ships.
"Sometimes, even when they are disoriented, they fall into the water. Without our reports, they would let them drown," describe the local activists of AWF. Spanish authorities allow the export of live sheep to this country from April 21 until Eid al-Adha. This was achieved through an agreement between the Sanchez government and Algeria. The departing lambs are between six and 24 months old. A controversial decision criticized not only by animal rights activists.
THE MEAT INDUSTRY OPPOSES
The National Association of Meat Industries of Spain (ANICA) itself disagrees. They openly communicate, "Regrets the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food to authorize the export of live sheep to Algeria." "The significant decrease in the sheep population in recent years has reduced the supply of animals, putting pressure on animal prices for slaughter, which are also at historic levels. The increase in live exports to third countries, with Morocco as the main destination, continues to influence the rise in animal prices," they emphasize.
The value chain is lost by exporting live animals, and there are signs of speculation. "Algeria had become a strategic market for Spanish exports of meat and offal, both beef and sheep. With this decision, a fundamental part of the livestock-meat value chain is at risk, shifting activity towards a speculative market focused on the trade of live animals, which is only sustained as long as the favorable conditions persist," they add from ANICA.
They arrive at the port of Cartagena. The workers in charge of their transfer to the ship mostly speak Arabic
They do not understand the decision and consider that a harmful barrier has been broken, even for health reasons. "The export of live animals to Algeria had always been an insurmountable health barrier by the Spanish government (due to the health problems that can arise from return shipments, from countries with a high presence of highly contagious animal diseases), and although only the export of animals by ship is allowed, it is legitimate to ask what the reasons are or what has happened now that did not happen before for this restriction to be lifted."
No one can guarantee that ships that previously had one flag and then another, constantly changing ownership, can control the necessary disinfection chain to maintain rigorous pest control. And, to make matters worse, they add, it is a time "marked by the shortage of animals" in the national market itself. Incomprehensible.
It is estimated that well over half a million Spanish lambs will have been exported for this celebration to Muslim countries, especially in the Maghreb and the Persian Gulf. Up to 25,000 lambs can be loaded per ship. In 2024, 1,108,083 head of ovine livestock were transported to foreign slaughterhouses, an 18% increase from the previous year, according to the animal export report from Cexgan/Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food.
The ships can carry up to 25,000 animals.
Additionally, Morocco has a plan. This year, King Mohammed VI has suspended the grand sacrifice of Eid Al-Adha. The reason is not to defend animal rights, of course. It is purely economic. Drought has taken a toll on their finances, and their livestock has suffered an unprecedented blow: nearly 40% less compared to a decade ago. As the Commander of the Faithful, the monarch has exempted his subjects from this celebration. This measure had not been taken since 1996, and it was his father Hassan II who did so for the same reason. Their aim is to repopulate their farms as quickly as possible. The export of fresh meat from Spain has been authorized, allowing at least some control over the slaughter and limiting transportation.