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On 30 September 2019 an article was published on South African news website Dispatch Live with the headline: Sheep ship gets go-ahead to transport 60, 000 live sheep. According to the article, a ship named Al Shuwaikh, docked in the East London harbour , in the Eastern Cape province, had been given the go-ahead to transport 60,000 live sheep to the country of Kuwait. The ship is owned by Kuwaiti livestock company Al Mawashi . The story was widely shared in South Africa on news platforms like Times Live and Go! & Express . There was a great deal of criticism of this news, because of the alleged harmful conditions under which the sheep would be transported. In an earlier article published on Times Live on 16 September, it was reported that the animals could suffer from heat stress, injuries and disease because of high temperatures in the areas they would be transported across. This was confirmed by Grace de Lange, manager of the South African National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) farm animal protection unit. The NSPCA is an independent body responsible for protecting animals from cruelty and suffering in South Africa. The final sign-off for exporting the animals to Kuwait was subject to the ship meeting provincial government health standards. The article was flagged as possibly false by Facebook’s fact-checking system. So did the Al Shuwaikh get clearance to export 60,000 sheep? We investigated. Ship met all provincial government requirements Ayongezwa Lungisa, a representative of the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, confirmed that the ship had passed department requirements. Lungisa said : We can confirm that the vessel has met all the requirements to 61,000 sheep. As a province we are satisfied that the ship has met these requirements. He furthermore said that department veterinary services would still inspect the sheep. Should the animals [be] found to be in order, an export permit could be granted, said the article. NSPCA inspectors watched last sheep being loaded According to a statement published on 4 October on the NSPCA’s website, the department’s inspection took place on 3 October. Molefe, the director of veterinary public health of the Department of Agriculture, accompanied the NSPCA’s veterinarian and a senior inspector. The statement further said : Inspectors from the National Council of SPCAs and SPCAs watched the last sheep being loaded onto the Al-Shuwaikh vessel, along with an estimated 57,000 other sheep destined for the Middle East for inhumane slaughter. The statement went on to express the NSPCA personnel’s dissatisfaction with the mishandling of the animals. The NSPCA said they would be laying charges in terms of the Animals Protection Act against the South African government and the Eastern Cape provincial government. Charges would also be laid for animal cruelty and assault against Al Mawashi staff and those who stopped NSPCA inspectors from performing their duties. But the articles shared on social media were correct. Despite controversy, the Al Shuwaikh received clearance from the South African government to transport the sheep. − Butchie Seroto
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