The transportation of live animals by sea between the islands of Pico, Faial, and São Jorge was suspended at the beginning of this month after environmental demands were made of the Pico Boat Company (EBP).

According to the law in force, the transport of live animals requires a straw bed to be placed inside the transport box to avoid contact with the iron structure and this space must be properly sanitized when it returns to the port of origin, removing the dirty straw. In addition, the company has to wash the box with water in a field far from the port area and transport the collected waste to a landfill.

Faced with this set of demands, EBP felt that it would be impractical to continue transporting animals and decided to suspend the service temporarily.

“At the moment, the Port of Madalena doesn’t have the conditions to sanitize the animal transport boxes, so we can’t continue to transport animals between Pico, Faial and São Jorge and we’ve decided to suspend the service. We can’t transport animals for 30 euros and comply with the environmental requirements recently imposed by the Veterinary Services and Portos dos Açores. We risk heavy fines and we don’t want to run that risk,” explained Manuel Cristiano, manager of EBP, who has been meeting with the environmental department of Portos dos Açores in recent weeks to try to find a solution that satisfies both parties: ”Portos dos Açores has been in contact with us to find a solution. On some points we are close to reaching an understanding, but the issue of sanitization remains unresolved. Portos wants the water used for cleaning to be directed into a watertight container to avoid contaminating the sea. We’re still waiting for a suggestion because we can’t invest in buying trucks, creating structures and having specialized staff to meet all the demands of transporting animals at the current rates.”

Manuel Cristiano assures us that the company is willing to continue transporting animals and believes that an understanding can be reached in the coming weeks: “In the meetings we’ve had, we’ve seen that there is good will to overcome the problem. The Farmers’ Association is also looking for a solution together with the bodies responsible for the Veterinary Services in the region. With the cooperation of all parties, I am confident that it will be possible to resolve the problem.”

The service of transporting animals between the three islands has been provided by the EBP for decades and, over the years, has been an important support for farmers who buy and sell animals to other producers living on one of the islands. The suspension of the service is therefore viewed with concern by farmers and entrepreneurs. The president of the Pico Farmers’ Association, Rui Matos, admits that the suspension of the service is having repercussions in the sector and the environmental demands made by the Veterinary Services and the Azores Port Authority could have unaffordable financial impacts: “This issue is already having an impact on the transportation of animals for those who sell and buy and in the future, it could have a high additional cost for farmers. If the current environmental requirements are maintained, the company responsible for transport will have to increase the cost of transport, which is already not cheap, in the service contracted by farmers.”

In Ilha Maior Newspaper, Poet Manuel Tomás, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.