Some passenger flights can feel like herding cattle, but they’re nothing compared to a recent LAN Cargo operation that was completed in May. In a series of four flights, LAN transported 1,000 head of cattle from Minga Guazú, Paraguay, to Guayaquil, Ecuador – reportedly one of the largest shipments of live animals so far this year.
LAN Cargo worked in coordination with teams at the National Directorate of Civil Aviation in Minga Guazú, and the staff at the José Joaquín de Olmedo airport in Guayaquil.These shipments are part of the Ecuadorian government’s repopulation and genetic improvement program, which seeks to import livestock from different places in the world.
A total of four 777F aircraft, each with a cargo capacity of 104 tonnes, were filled with cattle, carried in pens designed specifically for the project and built to accommodate trans-shipment to trucks. The freighter aircraft were conditioned for the well-being of the animals, including strict temperature control. On average, each cow weighed about 350 kilograms each, for a total of approximately 90 tonnes per freighter flight.
According to the Ecuadorian government, an additional 12,000 head of cattle may be shipped through the end of 2015, and the number could reach 35,000 during the next three years. Paraguay is one of the largest meat exporters in the world, with around 21 cattle farmers supplying the Paraguayan Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock with the cattle, which were handed over to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.