Delays in unloading are common with the wretched animals being left on board ship in hot, humid conditions, often with inadequate food and water. Often the ship unloads at a number of different ports in the Middle East. For those sheep not unloaded at the first port of call the voyage and its attendant suffering are even more protracted. Once unloaded the sheep may be kept in feedlots for days. These often lack shade, giving the animals no shelter from the baking sun.
Mortalities continue to rise.
Then in scorching heat they are transported yet again - this time to the slaughterhouse. The Australian and New Zealand Federation of Animal Societies estimates that approximately 100,000 sheep die each year after arrival in the Middle East and before slaughter. Once at the abattoir, the animals will suffer a painful death. They will be slaughtered by the halal method, which means that in most cases the animals are not stunned before slaughter. Their throats are cut and they are left to bleed to death while fully conscious.