Animal welfare activists are once again petitioning the High Court to stop the transport of live animals by sea to Israel for fattening and slaughter on the grounds of severe animal cruelty.

Freedom for Animals, which is behind Israel Against Live Shipments, on Thursday submitted a nearly 500-page document that includes the harrowing testimonies of three individuals with experience in the industry.

The petition demands the gradual cessation of such live transports over three years, with interim regulations to stipulate that conditions for animals in sea transport should not be worse than the minimum animal welfare standards established under Israeli law. It also seeks an immediate halt to maritime transport lasting over 10 days.

“Today, there is no longer any dispute that the live shipments constitute severe animal abuse,” the petition says. It describes extreme stress; disease; extreme heat “that cooks the animals while they are still alive”; lack of access to food and clean water; high ammonia concentrations generated by urine that damage the mucous membranes of the animals’ eyes and noses; and extreme crowding, which exacerbates stress, causes injury, and prevents rest and access to food and water for weaker animals.

Until the 1990s, Israelis had access to locally grown and slaughtered meat as well as to imports of frozen and chilled meat.

In the 1990s, the state began reducing tariffs on the import of livestock, scrapping them completely from 2014, while still........

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