The Global Meat Industry’s Floating Garbage Scow
Honestly, don’t you just want to slap the people who insist on talking about “humane slaughter” when the reality of meat production involves live export on floating geriatric cargo ships full of pregnant cattle. The Caavakushi team has been closely tracking the Spiridon II fiasco, and the sheer audacity of this entire situation is truly beyond words.
We’re talking about an old Togolese-flagged vessel, built way back in 1973—a full 52 years ago—that was somehow deemed fit to carry 2,901 living, breathing, pregnant female cows from Uruguay to Turkey. It’s a logistical disaster designed purely for profit. You couldn’t write a more perfect indictment of the live export trade if you tried.
A Paperwork Problem & A Moral Catastrophe
The journey began on September 20, 2025. The initial, month-long voyage was horrendous enough, but the real cruelty started when the ship reached Turkey on October 22. Why were they not allowed to dock? Because of a bureaucratic hiccup—paperwork issues concerning 469 animals. Imagine subjecting nearly 3,000 sentient beings to prolonged, unimaginable stress because of a clerical error.
The Caavakushi team believes this is where the system collapses completely. The lives of these animals—nearly 1,400 of whom were pregnant—were instantly deemed less valuable than correct ear tag documentation. This is classic speciesism, neatly wrapped in red tape and sailing off the coast of Turkey.
The Unsanitary & Suffocating Truth
As the ship bobbed offshore for weeks, the conditions plunged from merely awful to medically critical. You know the dark humour about a cruise ship plumbing failure? This is that, but tragic. Since international MARPOL regulations prevent the dumping of sewage and waste into the sea, the animals were literally trapped. Reports confirm the cows were standing knee-deep in their own excrement, leading to severely dangerous levels of ammonia on the lower decks.
This isn’t just discomfort; it’s mental and physical torture. Veterinarians warn that this environment causes severe respiratory distress, exhaustion, and infection. Cows, which naturally need space to lie down and ruminate, were unable to rest for weeks, compounding their suffering.
The Death Toll & The Dark Turn
The numbers are horrific, but we must face them. By the time the ship was stuck, at least 58 cows had already died. The stress caused 140 cows to give birth in the cramped, sewage-laden stalls. Unsurprisingly, these conditions are no place for a vulnerable calf. At least 50 new-borns are confirmed dead, crushed or drowned in the muck, and the fate of nearly a hundred others remains officially unknown.
But wait, it gets “better.” After being stranded, the ship turned around, briefly setting a course back to Uruguay, which would have meant over 87 days at sea in total. Thankfully, the latest update (November 25) indicates a significant turn: the ship went “dark” before reappearing in Benghazi, Libya, where the animals were reportedly offloaded. But we still don’t know exactly how many were unloaded and if any cows remained on board. Now, the ship is reportedly headed to Alexandria, Egypt, suggesting the cows have been dumped onto an unknown future in a country that may lack sufficient welfare protections.
The Caavakushi team sees this constant shifting—from Turkey to Uruguay to Libya, and now to Egypt—not as a solution, but as an attempt to bury the evidence and offload the “product.” This entire disaster, spanning over 65 days and counting, proves one thing definitively: live export is an irredeemable practice. It prioritizes profit and paperwork over life, and until we dismantle this horrific industry entirely, tragedies like the Spiridon II will continue to float into our news feeds. It’s time to end the live export trade for good, and the only way to do that is to stop buying the products it supplies.
Vegan Resources
- Caavakushi Vegan Food Recipes
- Caavakushi Vegan Drinks Recipes
- Caavakushi Vegan Newsletter & Free 7 Day High-Protein Vegan Meal Plan
- Vegan Stuff Podcast With Caavakushi
- Caavakushi Vegan Search Engine
- Best Vegan Recipe Books
- Best Vegan Wines & Alcohol
- Best Vegan Food & Supplements
Tell Us How You Feel
We want to know how you feel about the site, blog articles, and our recipes. Comment below and let us know your thoughts. Snap a quick picture or video clip of your recreation of our recipes and tag us on social media #Caavakushi #Caavakushirecipe #Caavakushimeal. We can’t wait to see how you added your special touch to our recipes. Help a fellow vegan out by posting your recipes on our vegan forum and make some new plant-based friends. Our podcast has something for everyone, from vegan activists to vegan businesses and plant-based celebrities.
If you like it, help us out by letting us know by leaving a review and 5 stars. Thanks in advance! (really appreciate it.) Oh, and we almost forgot to tell you that we’re giving away our 7-day high-protein vegan meal plan for free for a limited time only when you sign up for our vegan newsletter. Get yours now before it’s too late!
