South Africa's Cape Town hit by ‘unimaginable’ stench due to ship carrying 19,000 cattle

Officials in the South African city of Cape Town launched an investigation on Monday (Feb 19) to look for the source of the foul stench which has blanketed parts of the port city.

The stench which covered parts of Cape Town prompted the officials to inspect sewage facilities for leaks and an environmental health team was activated before the source of the smell was traced back to a ship carrying 19,000 cows from Brazil to Iraq.

The city is expected to get some respite from the foul smell soon, as per city authorities. Zahid Badroodien, an official in the mayor’s office in charge of water and sanitation took to X and said that investigators confirmed that the source of the smell “across the city is a ship in the harbour”.

What we know about the ship

He added that the ship, Al Kuwait, arrived on Sunday (Feb 18) and left the port on Monday (Feb 19) night. The ship’s departure may bring some relief to the people who had a smelly start to the week.

A resident who works near the harbour told the BBC that the smell was “overwhelming” and they were forced to keep the windows of their car closed despite it being a hot day.

Incident draws ire of animal welfare groups, government

Addressing the incident, the National Council of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) reiterated its “firm stance against the live export of animals by sea”, in a statement, on Monday.A team, including an NSPCA veterinary consultant, went aboard the vessel to assess the welfare of the animals.

“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 stench onboard is unimaginable, yet the animals face this every single day,” said the NSPCA.

South Africa’s Democratic Alliance party which governs Cape Town also condemned the transport of live cattle.

“Live export, as evidenced by this situation, exposes animals to perilous conditions such as dangerous levels of ammonia, rough seas, extreme heat stress, injuries, dirty environments, exhaustion, and even death,” said the political party, in a statement.

The incident also took place weeks after a ship carrying around 14,000 sheep and 2,000 cattle was stuck off the coast of Australia for nearly a month in sweltering heat after it was forced to abandon a trip through the Red Sea amid attacks from Yemen-based Houthi rebels.

At the time, animal welfare advocates were left appalled, bringing Australia’s live animal export industry under scrutiny.

(With inputs from agencies)