UK live export protest organised

Compassion in World Farming (CiWF) said it was calling on the government to reform laws to allow UK ports to refuse live exports. Currently, the Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847 rules that ports in Britain must allow the free trade of all goods, including livestock, and, to date, the government has refused to amend the legislation on the basis that it would break EU laws to do so.

The charity argued that animals are recognised as sentient animals in Europe, and should therefore be subject to different laws and regulations. It claimed that Farming Minister David Heath MP could amend the Act without breaking EU law, giving UK ports the power to refuse live exports, which could ultimately lead to the end of the trade.

By marching through London, our supporters are sending a clear message to David Heath MP that we are demanding action to be taken to end live exports for good,” said CiWF CEO Philip Lymbery. “This government has used European legislation as an excuse not to end the cruel and unpopular export of live animals to an uncertain fate on the continent. Defra has said it would prefer to see animals slaughtered as near as possible to where they are reared, so now we need to see some action, not more excuses.”

However, a spokesperson from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) maintained that using UK law to ban live animal exports “would be illegal under EU free trade rules”.

“We inspect all livestock at the start of the journey and they are checked at the port to ensure our strict animal welfare standards are upheld,”​ they added.

Last year over 47,000 sheep and calves were exported live from the UK to France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. CiWF is one of a number of UK action groups to organise protests against the trade. Earlier this month, the RSPCA held a protest at Dover port in a bid to get port authorities to grant its inspectors access to the animals due for export.