Cassy O'Connor | Greens Leader
The TT Line has not escaped accountability for the deaths of 16 horses in its care in 2018.
Four years after the polo ponies died in a converted refrigeration truck on the Spirit, TT Line has been found guilty of 29 breaches of the Animal Welfare Act.
There is some justice in the world.
The magistrate in the case against TT Line found the ponies died of acute heat stress and asphyxiation after being left unchecked and double-stalled in the vessel’s hold.
It must have been a terrifying, stressful death for those horses.
Regrettably, until this verdict, the TT Line has never accepted any responsibility for its role in the tragedy.
Indeed, in response to Greens’ questions during a Government Business Enterprise hearing after the deaths, TT Line’s CEO suggested the horses did not die on the ship, and claimed the GBE didn’t have a legal responsibility for any animal transported on its vessels.
The guilty verdict puts paid to that.
The Greens trust TT Line now has a clearer understanding of its legal obligations, and has robust processes in place to ensure animals are transported safely and humanely on the Spirit.