Rabbit Advocacy Animal Matters

Campaign 2016: Animals Are Not Freight 

Compassion In World Farming  

The Animals Are Not Freight international day of action against live animal transportation is coming together. Already, 27 groups in 20 countries have indicated they will take part and we would love you to be part of it, too.

The date is Monday August 29th - the 20th anniversary of the biggest live export disaster when more than 67,000 sheep died as the ship carrying them burned. This day is a chance for us all to come together and speak with one voice, while adapting the precise message for the decision-makers, media and public in our own regions and countries.

To be effective, we need groups of all sizes around the world taking action. Big or small, no matter what action or event you can plan, all are welcome, and all will help shine a light on the inhumanity of long distance transport.

Different groups are organising different events, from marches and rallies, to online actions, to media stunts. But you might also consider a candlelit vigil, a remembrance service for the animals, a demonstration outside your government’s offices, billboards, adverts, launching a national petition, abseiling down a building dressed as a cow! Whatever you can do to support this day of action would be wonderful.

I have attached the logos that all participating groups can use. I hope you like them.

The Animals Are Not Freight website - which is on its way - will allow groups to upload any event they organise, and individuals to download social media images, placards and other resources, all with the Animals Are Not Freight logo. It will feature your event(s) and your logo should you take part.

Canadians Against Live Export (CALE) is planning on joining this action.

Ban on live animal exports considered

February 2, 2018 BBC

A Private Members Bill on the issue was due to be heard on Friday, but has been withdrawn by its sponsor, the former Conservative minister Theresa Villiers. She says Environment Secretary Michael Gove is looking very seriously at banning the trade.

Farmer Frank Langrish said a ban would be a major blow for post-Brexit trade. The live export of animals has been an emotive issue for years, with campaigners blockading ports to halt what they say is a cruel trade which can see animals travelling long distances to sub-standard abattoirs in Europe.

The UK's ferry companies stopped accepting the business in 2007 - just one private boat now takes animals from Ramsgate - and the numbers of animals involved has fallen. The National Farmers' Union estimates that fewer than 20,000 sheep and no cattle were exported last year.

But some farmers say it would be better to allow the trade to continue with an assurance scheme to ensure high welfare standards for all stages of the animals' journey.

A Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman told the BBC Mr Gove was "attracted to the idea" of a ban, adding: "We are considering all options."

Ms Villiers said she was opposed to the export of live animals because of the journey times they endure and the lack of rules at abattoirs overseas.

"For example, you get animals transported from Scotland to Northern Ireland, then doing a land journey to the south, then a 20-hour sea journey to France, then all the way from France down to Spain," she told BBC Radio 4's Farming Today programme. "It's simply not possible to be certain that proper animal welfare standards will be applied overseas.

"I accept that it will have an impact on parts of the farming sector, but the trade now is so tiny in comparison to the sector as a whole, I believe that it's worthwhile and clearly important that we go ahead with the ban that's proposed."

But Frank Langrish, a sheep farmer in Sussex, said a ban could sound the death knell for the trade post Brexit. "If we end up in a situation where there are now tariffs on live animals - there are no tariffs on live animals. The tariffs on meat are very high - 40 something per cent - there's no way in the world that you would see sheep farming continue here without that export market."

Comment: And about time. There is NO way the transport can be monitored from start to finish. Every time the trucks have been followed the most terrible suffering has been filmed and all the so-called laws have been broken.  

A ban could be enacted on moral grounds but that is unlikely at this point, considering factors like economic interests and the classification of animals as ‘property.’ As well, widespread and ongoing public support is needed to ensure we no longer enlist our animals to barbaric conditions that we cannot realistically control. 

June 14, 2019 Compassion in World Farming Campaign -- Stop Live Export: International Awareness Day. Every year, millions of animals are exported on horrific journeys to countries in the Middle East, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and other nations. Many of them die from dehydration, starvation, disease or being trampled to death before even reaching the final destination. Once there, many will face unimaginably inhumane slaughter by often unskilled workers.

This trade must end on legal and moral grounds. In Canada, contact Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada Marie-Claude.Bibeau@parl.gc.ca and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau PM@pm.gc.ca

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November 25, 2019 Romania tries to rescue 14,600 trapped sheep on capsized vessel. They were destined for Saudi Arabia and nearly every one of these poor animals drowned. It is unconscionable that these death ships are still in existence today, yet governments permit it – all in the relentless pursuit of profits and greed.

Read more on our Factory Farming and Ethics Pages

Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada: Industry, Markets & Trade