After Tory dither and delay, parliament FINALLY passes Animal Welfare Bill to protect farmed animals

On Tuesday 14 May, the UK House of Lords passed a landmark new bill on animal welfare. Of course, it’s a major win for animal rights. However, it likely could have happened a lot sooner if not for Tory wrangling on previous bills.

Animal Welfare Bill passes through parliament

The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill prohibits the export of cattle, goats, pigs, and horses for slaughter, and fattening for slaughter.

It aims to improve animal welfare in farming by ending long, arduous journeys to other countries. These journeys regularly put animals through overcrowding, exhaustion, dehydration and stress.

However, on 14 May (2024), the House of Lords passed the new bill that will bring this appalling practice to a close. It will now head for royal assent before becoming law.

Activists have been calling for the ban for decades. Emma Slawinski, director of policy, prevention and campaigns at the RSPCA animal charity, described it as “an extraordinary achievement” that activists had campaigned on for 50 years. She said that:

Back in the 90s we had more than a million animals going out from the UK. It’s an abhorrent trade. The suffering is intense and it goes on for a long time.

Some of those journeys were measured in days, not in hours, and they’re never going to happen again.

Activists launched particularly fierce and dedicated campaigning during this time. Notable among this was a coordinated wave of protests and direct action against the practice at the port of Brightlingsea in Essex in 1995. UK media dubbed the event “The Battle of Brightlingsea”.

In tandem with this, on February 1, 1995, Jill Phipps (photo above) was one of a few dozen animal rights activists who broke through a police line at Coventry Airport in central England. She was crushed to death under a lorry as she protested against the export of live calves for veal in 1995.

Continue reading at:

Animal Welfare Bill: step forward for animal rights to become law (thecanary.co)

It does not seem to be true really; after 40+ years of fighting this campaign personally; now we have it enshrined in Law.

A wonderful result that many good friends who fought for years; but are no longer with us, will be having a beer or two (somewhere) tonight.

I think I will be joining them !

Regards Mark

Above – Great Friend and Export Campaigner – Mike Tucker (London).

Above – A cold day fighting for the calves at Dover.

Remembering dear friend John; he made such a contribution:

England: Another Terrible Loss – John Callaghan.

Photo EFI

14 May 2024

EFI

Ethical Farming Ireland succeeded in preventing a 45 year old transport vessel from coming into port at Greenore to collect Irish cattle for export.

The Sarah M was scheduled to dock at Greenore on Ireland’s northeast coast on April 30, to collect 2000 young bulls for export. 

The ship had recently been classed with the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, and was therefore subject to European Union sanctions which include denial of access to EU ports. 

Ethical Farming Ireland alerted the Department of Transport of this breach, which resulted in the vessel being denied entry. 

The organisation has long campaigned against live export from Ireland to mainland Europe and beyond, as thousands of animals are exported to countries as far afield as Libya, Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Turkey each year. 

The organisation has expressed disappointment that their intervention was necessary in order to ensure proper regulation of the vessel.

Such incidents are not uncommon amongst live transport vessels, as revealed in new research by Animal Welfare Foundation. Nearly half of the animal transport vessels approved in the EU are flying the flag of a country marked by the Paris Memorandum of Understanding as a black flag (for example Togo, Sierra Leone or Tanzania). 

This flag indicates these vessels pose a high risk to maritime traffic, as well as to the animals, crew and environment.

Regards Mark

13 May 2024

Animals International

A five year phase out plan and $107m support package has been promised by the Australian government, meaning live exports of sheep will end on 1 May 2028.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt made the announcement on 11 May, noting that legislation will be introduced in this term of the Australian Parliament to end the trade in law.

The decision was taken after years of campaigning from animal welfare organisations, with polls revealing that the majority of Australian citizens want to see an end to the cruel trade. 

The live sheep export industry has shown time and again that they are unable to meet the community’s expectations.

Murray Watt, Australian Agriculture Minister

Live export has also been in a long-term economic decline, and now accounts for only 0.1% of Australia’s agricultural exports. 

This has directly corresponded with an increase in the trade of meat products, with trade in chilled sheep meat now 58 times the value of the live sheep export trade. Sales of chilled Australian sheep meat to the Middle East alone now represent $632 million, compared to only $77 million of profits from the entire live sheep export trade.

Decades of investigations have confirmed the stressful, dirty and overcrowded conditions that sheep are subjected to during long sea journeys from Australia. Heat stress can be fatal for animals aboard transport vessels, as tragically proven during the 2017 Awassi Express disaster where around 2,400 sheep died from heat stress whilst travelling between Australia and the Middle East. 

While of course we wish it was sooner, we also recognise and respect the responsibility of the Government to consider all who are impacted by this historic decision… Considering the decades of dedicated effort and advocacy, it is understandable that some doubted whether this trade would end in their lifetime. Now we know differently.

Animals International

Our recent post:

Australia: A Ban Date For Live Animal Exports Announced. Too Long, But At Least A Date Now Given By Government.

Best – Mark