'If the smell in Cape Town CBD was so strong today, can one imagine what the animals have to smell inside the ship?"

This was a question posed by animal rights activist Carli Costa, who joined other protesters at the Taliep Petersen Bridge on Nelson Mandela Boulevard in Cape Town on Monday.

They were picketing against live animal exports following the docking of the livestock carrier ship Al Kuwait, which caused a foul smell in parts of Cape Town, including Green Point, the Waterfront, Woodstock and Observatory.

The ship, which is transporting 19,000 cattle to Iraq, had been at sea for eight days and was travelling from Brazil when it made an emergency stop at Cape Town harbour. An employee at the harbour said the ship docked for fuel, water, food and medication for the crew and the animals.

Distressed and dead

Pictures leaked to Daily Maverick show distressed cattle, some of which had been lying in their urine and faeces for the past eight days. According to Transnet, the Al Kuwait was expected to leave Cape Town on Tuesday, but the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) said it would leave on Wednesday.

It...