An Israeli NGO is among 36 international animal protection organizations calling on the International Maritime Organization to reform the transportation of live animals by sea for fattening and slaughter when they reach their destination.

The appeal, submitted last week but publicized on Tuesday, cited continuing threats to human life, animal welfare and the marine environment.

The IMO, responsible for global shipping regulation, counts Israel among its signatories to key conventions, including the MARPOL Convention for the prevention of marine pollution, to which Israel has been a party since 1952.

In parallel to the international appeal, Israel Against Live Shipments, led by the organization Freedom 4 Animals, has written to the Israeli Shipping and Ports Authority, urging the government to uphold its international obligations.

Since the beginning of this year, 148 shipments of live animals have arrived in Israel, carrying 600,000 animals, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

Freedom 4 Animals said that many arrived on aging vessels, such as Tuleen, already 50 years old. The ship, said the organization, was converted from a cargo vessel and was never designed to transport livestock safely.

Tuleen is one of more than 10 old vessels still in use for Israeli animal imports, some of which should have already been........

© The Times of Israel