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Anne Zijlstra
‘Animals need to get used to the swell too, just like humans’
Anne Zijlstra (67) first went to sea when he was nineteen. For part of his time at sea, he worked on a ship transporting sheep, cows and horses. 'Before I started working on a cattle freighter, I'd served on oil tankers, and on bulk freighters and general cargo ships. But cattle transport was something else entirely. I didn't do any special training for it, I just started. I was already an experienced chief mate, of course, but the cargo-specific stuff I learned on board, from the captain and crew.'
Penning them up
'I've sailed many different routes: from Ireland to Africa, from Australia to the Middle East, and from Australia to Indonesia and China. People on shore would bring the cattle to the ship, and once they were on board we did the penning: ensuring the right number of animals per pen. They have to have enough space for a humane crossing. Cows and sheep need to be able to lie down, for example, so they can sleep. And the weight must be properly distributed, of course. We made a plan for that beforehand.'
Athwartships
'The weather is important for all vessels, of course, but with livestock on board it’s perhaps even more so. On the route from Ireland to North Africa, the ships were relatively small, taking one to two thousand head of cattle. With a ship like that, you don't want to run into a storm, for example in the Bay of Biscay. That's a nasty start to the voyage, because then the cattle get completely upset. And they’re already upset by being on a ship. So then we would heave to until the weather improved. Animals at sea react the same as humans do: they have to get used to the rolling motion. At a certain point, you see them aligning themselves – they stand athwartships, so they don't feel the sway anymore. That puts them at ease.'
Good health
'As chief mate, I was closely involved in looking after the animals. So I had to muck them out and feed them, but also take care of sick ones. We had a full medicine cabinet on board! In 1987, I was promoted from chief mate to captain. From then on, I no longer concerned myself with the individual animals, but I naturally monitored the condition of the cattle in general. If there was too much or too little dung in the pens, I knew something was wrong with them. We really cared about the animals. Our aim was always to get them to their destination in good health.' ←
‘With a ship like that, you don't want to run into a storm’