From the end of June 1945 through April 1947, UNRRA made approximately 360 livestock shipments. The ships left from Baltimore, Galveston, Gulfport, Houston, Montreal, New Orleans, New York, Newport News, Portland (ME), and Savannah. A few shipments were also made from Brazil.
Shipments went to Albania, China, Czechoslovakia (docking in Bremen, Germany), Ethiopia, Greece, Italy, Poland, and Yugoslavia (docking in Trieste, Italy).
The animals shipped included mostly horses, mules, heifers, and bulls, totaling 239,377 animals. In addition, some shipments included chicks and poultry, sheep, pigs, donkeys and jacks, or goats. The total loss of livestock in transit was only 3.8%.
This information comes from a draft copy of the UNRRA Livestock Program Historical Report. The report was compiled and written by Robert Lintner, Chief of the Livestock Branche, Agricultural Rehabilitation Division of UNRRA. Click on the following headings to see reports from a database built from the UNRRA document.
UNRRA Livestock Shipments with losses by ship
This report is in the order of the original report, listing sailing date, name of ship, loading port, destination, type of animal, number, and percent lost.
UNRRA Shipments of Livestock from Western Hemisphere by Date
This report lists shipments in sequential order.
UNRRA Shipments of Livestock from Western Hemisphere by Destination
This report is listed in alpha order of the countries receiving the shipments.
UNRRA Shipments of Livestock from Western Hemisphere by Loading Port
This report lists shipments in alpha order of the ports where animals were loaded. A few of the entries (such as Iceland and New Zealand) were additional acquisitions on a trip that originated in the United States or Canada.
UNRRA Shipments of Livestock from Western Hemisphere by Ship
This report lists the ships used in alpha order.
THE COWBOYS – yet to come
THE SHIPS – yet to come
Header photo credit: Hugh Ehrman, SS Morgantown Victory, Gdansk, Poland, December 1945.