Brazil is the largest meat exporter in the world. Tens of thousands of oxen leave Brazil's ports each year and spend weeks crammed on the high seas before being shot down.
Most land in Middle Eastern countries, which want the cattle live to ensure that the halal rite is followed. Activists say that most of the boats are very old and do not meet minimum safety requirements for animals. In 2012, more than 2,000 animals bound for Egypt died of suffocation during the journey because the ship's ventilation system failed.