A terrible smell is enveloping Cape Town, South Africa, and it’s all because of a ship docked in the city’s port carrying 19,000 cows, according to local authorities.
“It was the worst smell I’ve ever encountered,” said Lerato Bashing, a 29-year-old resident of Cape Town.
The source of the odor has been identified as the Al Kuwait ship, which has been anchored in Cape Town since Sunday evening.
The City of Cape Town assured that they are addressing the issue.
Zahid Badroodien, the city’s official in charge of water and sanitation, mentioned that the ship is scheduled to depart on Monday night.
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The Al Kuwait is on its way to Iraq from Brazil but made a stop in Cape Town to replenish feed for the cattle, as reported by the anti-animal cruelty organization NSPCA.
Agents from the organization boarded the ship and remarked, “This smell is indicative of the awful conditions the animals endure, having already spent 2½ weeks on board, with a build-up of faeces and ammonia.”
“The smell ruined my day.
Even indoors, every time the elevator opened, the odor would fill the office and linger in the back of my throat like a bad taste,” Ms. Bashing expressed.
Another resident, who works near the harbor, described the smell as “overwhelming,” forcing them to close their car windows despite the hot weather.
“It was as bad as you can imagine, and it made me not want to breathe,” they shared.
However, residents noted that the smell hasn’t reached the other side of Table Mountain or the southern suburbs.
While the people in the port city are greatly affected, there’s concern about how the crew aboard the ship are coping, having spent about two weeks with the cattle.
“I feel sorry for the workers on that carrier who have to be around that every day and for the animals,” Ms. Bashing sympathized.
The NSPCA used this incident to reinforce its opposition to the live export of animals by sea, a practice they’ve been campaigning against since 2019
According to the NSPCA, this method of trade inflicts “pain, suffering, and distress to many animals.”
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