Cattle lost in typhoon

[D2Cat]

43 sailors missing.... Pretty tough being on a ship in 130MPH winds!

Hard to imagine 5800 head of cattle on a ship. New Zealand to Japan would take 30 days or so. That's a lot of hay and grain, and then all that processed to be removed.

Japan Coast Guard finds third sailor as search for missing ship with 43 sailors and 5,800 cows aboard continues | CNN

A third man has been found floating in a life raft in the waters off Japan after a cargo ship with 43 people and almost 6,000 cows aboard went missing during Typhoon Maysak, according to the Japan Coast Guard.

www.cnn.com

 

[Nicfin36]

I saw the headlines earlier today and did not read the article as I was leaving for work. I found it hard to believe there were that many cows on a ship. I did not realize it was a 30 day trip to Japan either, which makes it even more fascinating.

 

[JohnDB]

Fascinating is one word, the logistics would be interesting. Gruesome is another word. Supposedly these cattle were being exported for breeding purposes. Livestock export from NZ for slaughter was banned a few years back after animal welfare groups raised the alarm about the disgusting conditions which caused many cattle and sheep to die en route. I think the reason that export for breeding was allowed to continue was the the animals were supposedly worth more than those going to slaughter (or "harvest" as some retail meat packages call it) so were more likely to have better conditions.

Don't get me wrong, I like my steak as much as any carnivore, but I also hope that it had a nice life and only one bad moment.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I think it was 'Mighty Ships', a TV show , years ago, that showed one of these 'mega meat haulers' for an hour. It was neat to watch, from getting the cattle on....to unloading. details like auto feeders, VENTING , real important !!, 'cleanup in aisle #3', etc.

 

[skeets]

I read that and all I could think of was a line from Mac the Knife
Oh, the shark, babe, has such teeth, dear
And he shows them pearly white

 

[RCW]

I think it was 'Mighty Ships', a TV show , years ago, that showed one of these 'mega meat haulers' for an hour. It was neat to watch, from getting the cattle on....to unloading. details like auto feeders, VENTING , real important !!, 'cleanup in aisle #3', etc.

Jay - I had to look up cattle ships on Google. had no idea of such a thing.

I'd like to see that show....

 

[Henro]

Jay - I had to look up cattle ships on Google. had no idea of such a thing.

I'd like to see that show....

I

43 sailors missing.... Pretty tough being on a ship in 130MPH winds!

Hard to imagine 5800 head of cattle on a ship. New Zealand to Japan would take 30 days or so. That's a lot of hay and grain, and then all that processed to be removed.

Japan Coast Guard finds third sailor as search for missing ship with 43 sailors and 5,800 cows aboard continues | CNN

A third man has been found floating in a life raft in the waters off Japan after a cargo ship with 43 people and almost 6,000 cows aboard went missing during Typhoon Maysak, according to the Japan Coast Guard.

www.cnn.com

The news report I read said expected transit time was 17 days.

Apparenty they had an engine failure so were drifting and unable to control the vessel.

I would bet they dump the processed feed into the sea. Might be appreciated by sea creatures, do not know.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

A "friend" was flying a plane to Hawaii in the military and his military wife was jump seating along. The copilot wandered off and another wife happened to wander up seconds after the pilot "vented a beef & cheese." His wife, in the jumpseat behind him tactfully elbowed him to which he leaned forward and said, "Yup! A cattle boat! You can smell 'em all the way up here." The other wife smiled and seemed impressed but then left the cockpit.

 

[JohnDB]

Interesting radio interview today about bulk shipping live animals to overseas markets...

Why is NZ persisting with live animal exports?

MPI has slapped a temporary ban on live animal exports after the sinking of the Gulf Livestock 1. There are demands they cease all together but banning them completely is not that simple.

www.rnz.co.nz

.

 

[D2Cat]

John, thanks for posting that link. Very informative and revealing. The World Trade Origination has a lot of control in such things, and it points out how the receiver of the livestock can treat them much differently then the seller.

 

[JohnDB]

John, thanks for posting that link. Very informative and revealing. The World Trade Origination has a lot of control in such things, and it points out how the receiver of the livestock can treat them much differently then the seller.

Thanks D2. I posted it because I suspected that a TV show such as "Mighty Ships" would probably only show the sanitised version of livestock exports instead of the reality. In my experience most stock farmers have concern for animal welfare (in transit and at the other end) but some don't, or don't want to know.