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Alarming breaches discovered in the live export of calves trade       printable version

21 May 2018: posted by the editor - Environment, Ireland

Over 100,000 calves have been exported from Ireland so far this year. The majority of these have gone to veal farms in Spain and the Netherlands. The journeys can take over 50 hours. On arrival, the calves are kept in cages too small for them to turn around in, with bare slatted flooring. Investigators trailing a shipment of trucks transporting calves from Ireland to the Netherlands in March have uncovered some serious breaches in EU regulations. These 2-3 week-old animals are meant to be rested for 12 hours after a maximum of 19 hours travel. Considering the ferry to France takes 18-19 hours, this 12-hour rest rule is clearly unworkable. There is a bend in the rule for roll-on roll-off journeys: exporters can exceed the 19 hours but they must stop for 12 hours at the port in France. Herein lies the problem: the designated rest point can only hold 1,500 calves whereas there may be 5,000 animals in a shipment. The remaining 3,500 calves have to travel for several more hours before they can stop. This is a clear and undeniable breach of regulations, as well as being incredibly cruel. Caroline Rowley, spokesperson for the Irish branch of Compassion in World Farming said: “Most TDs have no idea that this is happening, probably on a daily basis, affecting many thousands of vulnerable animals. The minister needs to step in and get to grips with what is an appalling abuse of the already questionable system. We in Compassion in World Farming have long called for an end to the live export trade, and when the laws governing the trade are seen to be so frequently and flagrantly abused, the case for ending the trade becomes much stronger.” Tags: live animal exportation, Compassion in World Farming

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