Worldwide, every year, millions of animals are forced to endure journeys of hundreds, or even thousands of miles, only to be slaughtered on arrival or be fattened in horrific conditions.

Live animals, including cows, sheep, pigs, and goats are routinely transported by sea across continents, with some of them being unweaned babies.

So what is wrong with live animal export?

• Overcrowding - The animals are often packed so tightly into these ships that they cannot sit or lay down, or equally access food and water. Due to the vast overcrowding many are severely injured or trampled to death.
• Exhaustion and dehydration - The animals can be in transport for hours, days, weeks, or even months. During this time they can be faced with extreme temperatures without sufficient food or water. Many will die from this.
• Pain and distress - Animals are sentient beings and can feel pain and experience distress just like us. 
• Illness and disease - These conditions are rife for the spread of disease. Sick and dead animals are often unseen due to how crowded these ships are.
  Animals are left amongst their own urine and feces (the ships are not ‘washed out’ until arrival at the destination after the remainder of live animals are departed from the ship) 
• No legal protection - When animals are exported from Europe to countries outside Europe they leave behind them all the legal protection they once received.  The result can mean horrific abuse during transport, squalid housing, brutal handling, torturous restraint systems, and slow, painful slaughter.
• Unexpected issues – in addition to routine suffering, long distance live transport can also result in fires, delays or sinking of livestock ships causing the suffering and death of large numbers of animals.

The 6 points I have addressed above, are just few of the problems with live export. If you would like to know more I urge you to do some research into the inhumanity of the live export trade.

The Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act (1847) states that all ports must allow the free trade of ‘goods’, including farm animals. So, by law British public ports must allow lorries full of animals to pass through, even if the port authority doesn’t agree with the trade. It’s time this law was updated so that ports can legally refuse consignments of live, sentient, animals without fear of legal repercussions. If the UK does get challenged by the EU the Government should stand up for the animals facing export, and take the case to the European Courts if necessary.

It’s 2020 and it’s about time we end LIVE ANIMAL EXPORT for good!