Traffickers now placing baby animals in refugee boats to gain sympathy from Europeans

Tripoli, Libya (dpo) - Could a new turn of events breathe a new lease of life into rescue missions in the Mediterranean? Several North African traffickers have started placing baby animals in their boats in order to gain sympathy from Europeans. The plan is to have at least one cute little kitten or fluffy puppy on board each refugee boat in future.

“Many Europeans just shrug their shoulders at the deaths of men, women and children,” says one anonymous Libyan trafficker, “but they cannot allow innocent baby animals to drown – that’s one thing they all agree on. They cannot sit back and do nothing. And now nobody can claim that we do not care about the lives of our customers.”

Numerous baby rabbits are also expected to be used in this way.

The animals come from farms along the North African coast which have been set up for the express purpose of serving this market. These farms specialise in fluffy breeds with large, appealing eyes.
The announcement sparked heated debates on social media, in particular on right-wing forums where many users are demanding that rescue efforts in the Mediterranean are stepped up immediately.
“These poor, innocent creatures!!! We cannot let them drown!!” writes a user by the name of English&Proud34.
Clara W. feels the same, “Enyone who looks a puppy in the eye just has to recsue it. Enyone who dusnt just isnt human.”

The people on these boats took baby animals on board with them. That is why they are being rescued.

All parties have now pledged further resources to marine rescue missions. A spokesperson for the European Parliament made a statement: “Every cute kitten or cuddly puppy that dies in the Mediterranean brings shame upon Europe!” Italy and Malta immediately opened all ports and launched a fleet of rescue boats.
In the UK alone, over 50,000 people have now registered as volunteers for the rescue missions. However, several thousand of these claim only to wish to rescue the animals from the refugee boats and then leave.
mka, dan, ssi; picture [M]: Shutterstock; first published 2018/09/19
Read the German version HERE.