End cruel practice of animal exports
MOST readers will be familiar with the sight of livestock trucks on the motorway, transporting farmed animals who are easily visible through the slatted sides of the trucks.
What readers may be unaware of, however, is just how far many of these animals travel over land and sea, and the conditions under which those long journeys are made.
Each year, over two million live animals are exported from Europe to overseas destinations, including from British ports such as Ramsgate.
In very many cases, they are travelling from countries where they enjoy some legal protection as ‘sentient beings’ to intensive farming systems and slaughter in countries where they will have no legal protection whatsoever.
En route, many animals – sheep, pigs, horses, cattle and very young calves among them – suffer unbearable overcrowding (some are unable to lie down at all, while others are trampled to death during the trip), extremes of temperature, exhaustion, and dehydration (some animals receive no fresh water at all during the journey). This has been thoroughly documented by Compassion In World Farming investigators as well as by groups such as Vets Against Live Exports.
August 29 marks the 20th anniversary of 67,488 sheep burning to death aboard the transport vessel MV Uniceb after it caught fire in the Indian Ocean. To mark this tragic anniversary, and to raise awareness around the live export of farmed animals, Compassion In World Farming is co-ordinating a global day of action, with events internationally and nationwide including local awareness-raising in Cheshire and a national demonstration in Trafalgar Square.
Farmed animals are being transported huge distances while still alive simply because it is cheaper than transporting refrigerated produce and often cheaper to slaughter them overseas.
In other words, many animals farmed in the UK end their lives with horrendous journeys over land and sea lasting over 78 hours in some cases, some travelling as far as North Africa where they face unregulated handling and slaughter.
If we are serious about animal welfare, and if we see animals as sentient beings who feel pain and stress, then we need to end this cruel practice. Please write to your MP to voice your concern. For more information visit www.notfreight.org. Jane Smith Co-ordinator, Compassion In World Farming – Cheshire Group