Politicians remain silent

Disappeared without a trace: Where are thousands of cows?

The fact that Austrian cattle are being offered on social media like commodities and sold on through sometimes dubious channels shows glaring gaps in the control of these exports.

(Bild: themarker.org)

The lack of traceability and questionable trading practices involving thousands of cows have once again been revealed. Despite growing criticism, Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) remains silent and fails to provide urgent answers, animal rights activists warn.

At the beginning of the year, the research platform "The Marker" revealed that thousands of pregnant cows were being exported from Austria to Algeria - without any proof of their whereabouts. Now the Ministry of Health has also confirmed that there is no information about what happens to the animals after they are exported.

There are no follow-up checks as to whether the animals are actually used to build up dairy cow populations as claimed. "The Ministry has no figures on how many of these animals are currently being kept and where," the official response states.

43 cows already documented on interactive map
The platform has launched the "Cowfinding" project to track down the whereabouts of around 60,000 missing cows and their calves. So far, the team says it has documented 43 cows, which are listed on an interactive map on the website. Discussions with farmers, traders and slaughterhouse employees on site in Algeria reveal a system that is subject to little or no control.

Dubious online sales 
The investigative team reports that the cows are sold on at local livestock markets after their arrival in Algeria - often without their whereabouts being documented. For example, an Austrian cow and calf were discovered at a cattle market in the Sahara desert.

Animal welfare is a foreign concept in some third countries. Animals are also often killed under circumstances that would be prohibited in Austria.

(Bild: themarker.org)

At the same time, social media, especially platforms such as Facebook and TikTok, have developed into a large, unregulated market for the trade in Austrian cattle. Anyone can buy a cow there, regardless of their background or purpose, and it remains completely unclear who ultimately acquires the animals or what happens to them.

One trader, reached by phone by The Marker's investigators, claimed to have transported a sick Austrian cow that could no longer walk alive on a pickup truck to a zoo - where he said it ended up as food for predators. Such practices would be illegal in Austria, as they clearly violate animal welfare laws.

Tobias Giesinger followed the trail of Austrian cattle all the way to Algeria.

(Bild: themarker.org)

The fact that Austrian cattle are offered like commodities on social media and resold through sometimes dubious channels shows glaring gaps in the control of these exports. "With our 'Cowfinding' project, we want to create the basis to expose these non-transparent practices and lay the foundation for future measures to bring about change," says animal rights activist Tobias Giesinger. 

Totschnig and Moosbrugger refuse to comment 
Neither the cattle breeding associations, the Chamber of Agriculture nor the Ministry of Agriculture apparently responded to a written request from "The Marker". At the opening of the agricultural fair in Wels last Thursday, both the Minister of Agriculture Norbert Totschnig and the President of the Chamber of Agriculture Josef Moosbrugger, both ÖVP, explicitly refused to comment, the press release emphasizes. 

Animal rights activists complain that politicians are failing to provide urgent answers.

(Bild: themarker.org)

"The silence of Agriculture Minister Totschnig and Chamber of Agriculture President Moosbrugger shows us that the ÖVP wants to continue with these non-transparent export practices without facing up to public criticism. Obviously, economic interests are at the forefront here," Tobias Giesinger is certain.