Category: Live Transport

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

Global – With 100 Years Of Refrigeration; Why Are We Still Transporting LIVE Animals ?

The Dover protest days; which lasted decades actually; along with many other protests at other ports in SE England at various times, united the British people; who turned out in massive force against this abhorrent business. We cried long and hard at what we were witnessing with every shipment; but despite the utter feeling of being so helpless; there were some good times – you have to have them sometimes; right ??

In the first video you can see us all being held by the police in order to get the livestock transporters down to Dover port as quickly as they can. But as the video also shows; if you cannot stop them near to the port; then you actually go to the port to take action.

As you can see; the trucks sped through as quickly as they could. Being England; weather conditions were often foggy, raining and just dangerous with 40 plus tonnes of livestock transporter rushing past. The police attempted to intimidate protestors by filming them anywhere and everywhere as you can see; but really they had ‘lost the plot’ and had no real control. I Mark was proud to be part of all this; if there were no live animals needing our support then we would have been at home with loved ones watching tv or something ?

It was risky given the trucks speeds and the weather conditions; to this day I an still amazed that nobody was killed; unlike our beautiful Jill who was killed by a truck whilst protesting against live calf exports out of Coventry Airport. She was too lovely a person to have had her life cut short by a calf carrying transporter.

Beautiful Jill – Coventry Remembered.

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=jill+phipps+heroine+video+youtube&&mid=2CCC3ECE492DFFA327F72CCC3ECE492DFFA327F7&&FORM=VRDGAR

Unfortunately; today, 2025, the export of live, sentient beings across the world is still a massive business. but, the reality and cruelties of the trade are being exposed more and more all the time; take a look:

Here are all of our site links to the live animal export business:

https://worldanimalsvoice.com/?s=ive+transport

Phil; a personal friend, and Global CEO at London based Compassion In World Farming – https://www.ciwf.org/ often came to Dover to give us all his support.

Very recently, Phil wrote an article for ‘the Scotsman’; and asking the simple question – Why, after 100 years of refrigeration, are animals STILL being transported live ? I can only guess that money is involved a lot more than animal sentience. Here is a link to the article – a great read !

https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/100-years-of-refrigeration-why-are-animals-still-transported-live-5173637

So; here we are today, June 2025; still fighting hard for a global ban on the live animal export issue. Like in the UK, it was a very long campaign; but in the end, 2024 saw all UK live exports STOP. And so may this result continue across the entire planet.

Regards Mark.

Things changed for me when i was a little boy aged 8 years:

England: Live Animal Cruelty Investigations – Part 1 – The Start, By Knowing ‘It Was Wrong’.

My beautiful dog ‘Sheba’; given to me by my parents when I was five years; started me down the long road of having full respect FOR ALL living creatures.

In my personal opinion; this was, is, and forever will be; a good fight, worth fighting for 110%. Glad to have been involved !

Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport, Uncategorized

(UK) 100 years of refrigeration – why are animals still transported live?

https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/100-years-of-refrigeration-why-are-animals-still-transported-live-5173637

Published 13th Jun 2025, 06:00 BST

Sometimes, it feels like we’ll never learn. That our mistakes of the past are just waiting to resurface, to be repeated all over again. That our promises to do better are just window-dressing for a harsher reality. It seems particularly pertinent when anniversaries come round to remind us that something as wrong as exporting live animals over long distances, simply to be slaughtered at the other end, just aren’t necessary. And haven’t been for a long time.

And so, it was with a big sigh of disbelief that we heard the news earlier this year that Brittany Ferries was resuming live animal exports from Ireland to France. Dame Joanna Lumley and Pauline McLynn joined forces with over 120 high-profile individuals, experts and civil society organisations to condemn the decision.

Out of kilter

It seemed to particularly go against the grain as Britain had just banned live exports from Scotland, England and Wales to the continent only a year before. The ban from Britain in May 2024 finally enshrined in law the will of the people, many of whom had come out to protests around ports and docklands around the country for decades.

Finally, the voice of reason had been heard. Action had been taken to condemn a redundant and cruel trade to the history books where it belongs. Scientific evidence shows that when live animals are exported or transported long distances, they often suffer extremes of temperature and are deprived of rest, food or water.

It doesn’t take a scientist to know that putting sentient beings into lorries and taking them on journeys that can last days, causes them fear and distress.

While Great Britain introduced a ban on the live export of farmed animals last year, and Australia has announced the end of the live export of sheep by sea from 2028, the trade continues in the EU. It is a matter of shame that the EU’s current revision of its animal transport rules is appallingly weak. Journeys can last several days or even weeks, exposing animals to exhaustion, dehydration, injury, disease, and even death. Some 44 million farm animals annually have been found to be transported between EU member states and exported internationally, many of them on long distance journeys lasting eight hours or more.

The trade is flourishing owing to the rising demand for meat in some parts of the world: European companies are cashing in on the need to stock farms in countries such as Libya and Vietnam with breeding and fattening animals. For some countries – including Spain, Denmark, Ireland and Romania – livestock export is still seen as a key part of the farming economy.

Yet it is not only cruel, but also totally unnecessary.

Redundant for a Century

This year is the 100th anniversary of the invention of the first refrigerated truck. Made for the ice cream industry in 1925 by American inventor, Frederick McKinley Jones, it meant that chilled desserts, or carcases for that matter, could be transported over long distances and arrive in great condition.

From that day on, loading cattle, sheep and pigs into lorries to ship them abroad for slaughter was no longer needed. Instead, they could be slaughtered at a local abattoir and the carcases transported to wherever they are required. Refrigerated sea transport has an even longer history. In 1877, the French steamer Paraguay completed the first successful travel with its shipment of 5,500 frozen sheep carcases from Argentina arriving to France in reportedly excellent condition despite a collision that delayed the delivery for several months, thus proving the concept of refrigerated ships.

From that day on, we’ve never needed to subject live animals, often young animals just weeks old, to long distance sea journeys for slaughter or fattening again.

Blind persistence

Yet, we carry on despite clear evidence that doing so causes profound harm. Recommendations published recently by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), identified multiple welfare concerns in the transportation of live animals including “group stress, handling stress, heat stress, injuries, motion stress, prolonged hunger, prolonged thirst, respiratory disorders, restriction of movement, resting problems and sensory overstimulation”.

The EU is believed to be the world’s biggest live animal exporter. What fuels this outdated trade? Not need. Not compassion. Just cold, hard cash. A backward pursuit of an outdated economic model whereby animals are treated as inanimate objects and where farm specialisation has fuelled a trend towards fewer, but larger farms and slaughterhouses. Against this backdrop, meat producers aim to minimise production and slaughter costs, maximise revenues and optimise economies of scale by exploiting cost differences between member states.

spirit, innocence and blamelessness renders them defenceless in the face of unyielding, uncaring and backward-looking practices.

To throw another pertinent anniversary into the mix, this June sees the tenth International Ban Live Exports Day raising awareness of the scale and impact of these cruel journeys by land and by sea and sending a clear message to the companies that profit from this misery that it is totally unacceptable. Brittany Ferries, are you listening?

Philip Lymbery is Global CEO of Compassion in World Farming International, President of EuroGroup for Animals, a Board Member of the UN Food Systems Advisory Board, a former United Nations Food Systems Champion, an animal advocate and award-winning author. His latest book is Sixty Harvests Left: How to Reach a Nature-Friendly Future.

*********

https://www.suecoe.com/artworks/categories/43-sheep-of-fools/

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport, Uncategorized

(UK) Keir Starmer risks shredding Tories’ hard-fought Brexit win on animals in EU deal

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/2068269/keir-starmer-risks-shredding-tories

UPDATED: 16:33, Fri, Jun 13, 2025

Environmentalist Zac Goldsmith has raised concerns about a “troubling commitment” in the Prime Minister’s deal with the EU.

Zac Goldsmith has slammed Keir Starmer (Image: Getty)

ac Goldsmith has slammed Keir Starmer’s UK-EU reset for risking the Tories hard-fought Brexit wins on animal welfare. The environmentalist warned that a “troubling commitment” in the agreement means any UK deviation from EU food standards must not “negatively affect European Union animals and goods being placed on the market” in the UK.

The former MP said: “This seemingly technical clause has profound implications for animal welfare and our ability to raise our own standards, something that we fought so hard to achieve with Brexit.  “Among other things it likely means the UK cannot restrict imports of animal products that fail to meet our welfare standards – even when we’ve banned those same practices domestically.

He said around 50% of UK pork imports come from EU countries still using sow stalls – narrow metal cages Britain banned in the 90s because they were considered to be cruel.

A new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) deal was agreed last month to reduce red tape currently needed to import and export food and drink between the UK and the EU.

ut campaigners want the Government to clarify whether animal welfare measures fall outside the SPS agreement’s scope, or to negotiate explicit exceptions for welfare-based restrictions.

here were concerns before the deal was struck that Britain could weaken its post-Brexit animal protection laws to get a reset deal with Brussels.

But following the concerns, the Prime Minister said: “We are not involved in, nor will we be involved in, a sort of race to the bottom on standards.

“I think that British people are proud of the high standards that we have, and we want to maintain those standards.”

Sir Keir has pledged to strengthen ties with the EU since coming into office on July 4 last year.

As part of the agreement he signed, there will be more targeted checks on the movement of animals, animal products, plants and other products.

This will stop animals being held for excessive periods at the borders and lower any detrimental impact on animal health and welfare, and reduce the burden on the veterinary workforce.

There was also a commitment made on shared disease surveillance and data sharing, which will secure UK biosecurity and risk of imported diseases.

Animal welfare groups also welcomed the introduction of pet passports to replace Animal Health Certificates (AHCs), which increased burden on the veterinary workforce and hiked costs for animal owners since they came into force.

A Government spokesman said: “This government will always act in the national interest to protect Britain’s farmers and secure our food security. We have said we will uphold the highest agricultural standards and that is exactly what this deal does.”

By Lord Zac Goldsmith

Brexit undoubtedly delivered meaningful wins for animals, enabling policy changes that were previously impossible. We were able for example to ban the cruel live export of animals for slaughter and even more far reaching, we could change the way we subsidised farming to incentivise higher animal welfare and environmental stewardship. Neither of these changes could have happened without Brexit, which is one of the reasons I supported our EU exit in 2016.

And although of course I wish we had done more, the last Conservative Government did deliver a wide range of animal welfare measures, from an expanded ivory ban and banning glue traps, to much bigger sentences for animal cruelty and recognising sentience in law. Now in Opposition the Party is calling for among other things raising zoo standards.  

Last month’s UK-EU Summit produced a ‘Common Understanding’ agreement which has been hailed by the Prime Minister as a significant step towards mending post-Brexit relations, generating economic benefits and streamlining trade. However, buried in the details lies a troubling commitment: any UK deviation from EU food standards must not “negatively affect European Union animals and goods being placed on the market in the United Kingdom”.

This seemingly technical clause has profound implications for animal welfare and our ability to raise our own standards, something that we fought so hard to achieve with Brexit. Among other things it likely means the UK cannot restrict imports of animal products that fail to meet our welfare standards – even when we’ve banned those same practices domestically.

Consider the immediate threats. Around 50% of UK pork imports come from EU countries still using sow stalls – narrow metal cages we banned in the 90s because they were considered to be cruel. The last Labour government prohibited fur farming in the UK, yet we continue importing it from the EU. Under the new agreement, banning such imports may be impossible, despite the stated wishes of the Government to deliver the biggest boost to animal welfare in a generation.

The agreement links UK standards to EU animal welfare rules with opt outs limited to public health and biosecurity – assessed case by case basis. So while we might still be able to ban puppy imports, as these present a public health risk, the agreement could block us from banning EU fur or even foie gras on welfare grounds alone.

This not only undermines domestic animal welfare standards but also places British farmers, who adhere to stricter regulations, at a competitive disadvantage. The problem is more acute with EU imports, our largest trading partner for food imports, not just the usual suspects like the USA or Australia.

Brexit gave us the chance to lead the world on animal welfare – to show that an independent Britain could set gold standards that others would follow. This is also about democratic sovereignty; British voters consistently support higher animal welfare standards, with 84% backing restrictions on low-welfare imports.

There’s still time to put this right, but it will require government to clarify that animal welfare measures fall outside the SPS Agreement’s scope, or to negotiate explicit exceptions for welfare-based restrictions.

While its proponents say the UK-EU reset agreement offers economic and diplomatic benefits, it’s imperative that animal welfare remains a priority. By addressing these concerns proactively, the UK can position itself as a global leader in animal welfare and ensure that progress is not achieved at the expense of the most vulnerable and the voiceless.

Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport

Europe – The Rise Of The Mega Farm – How Industrial Agriculture Is Taking Over Europe.

A new investigation has revealed that the EU is home to 22,263 industrial chicken and pig farms – housing more than 516 MILLION Animals in the worst factory farm conditions.

Despite this, the EU Commission, some producers, and even some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are advocating for a further increase in the number of farmed animals.

But what would this increase mean for animal welfare; human health, as well as impact on the environment ?

https://stories.agtivistagency.com/the-face-of-european-farming/

The AGtivist data led investigation has, for the fist time, identified, and mapped these industrial farm around Europe; showing that the EU has 10,862 chicken farms; each holding at LEAST 40,000 birds; raised for egg or meat production, and 8,854 pig farms, holding at least 2,000 pigs each; or 2,547 for breeding pigs.

During the past ten years, 2,746 mega farms have started operations with the EU; with the highest rate of development happening in Spain, where 1,385 new industrial farms started up in the past decade. 5,314 permits for such farms were applied for during the last decade.

Whilst mega farms are sweeping across the EU, small and medium ones are rapidly declining. Between 2005 and 2020 the EU lost 5.3 million farms; most of which were smallholdings. – whilst the total agricultural land area remained stable, thus indicating the change – consolidation – into larger operations.

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Farms_and_farmland_in_the_European_Union_-_statistics#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20the%20smallest,less%20in%202020%20than%202005.

This represents a decrease of 44% within 15 years.

Meanwhile, the number of mega farms GREW by 56% within the same period; with the top 8% of the highest producing farms controlling a staggering 63% of all livestock in the EU. Here is the proof if you question what we say.

https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-eu-unit-stateless/2024/10/20241003-Go-big-or-go-bust-Greenpeace-report-on-how-EU-farmers-are-pushed-to-produce-more-to-stay-in-business.pdf

The income disparities between these farms increased by up to sixty fold. Proof – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/02/revealed-the-growing-income-gap-between-europes-biggest-and-smallest-farms?utm_source=chatgpt.com

Key statistics from the report include:

  • France has the highest number of industrial chicken farms at 2,342 farms.
  • Spain has the highest number of industrial pig farms, with 2,580 for fattening pigs and 821 farms fot breeding pigs. It is also the country that saw the biggest expansion of new farms starting to operate in the last decade.
  • Italy is in the top five countries for both industrial pig and chicken farms – 2,146 combined.

MEGA FARMS OPERATE INTENSVE FARMING SYSTEMS where chickens are densely packed into barns with INADEQUATE VENTILATION, INSANITARY CONDITIONS; ALONG WITTH NO ACCESS TO OUTDOOR SPACE OR NATURAL LIGHT.

The AGtivist investigations in Italy with our colleagues Essere Animali; revealed the reality of animal welfare on the ground; with chickens at a farm in Bergamo living in their own excrement and unable to stand no their feet because of their unnatural growth.

Photo – Stefania – AGtivist / Essere Animali.

In Brescia, investigators witnessed hens cramped together, on top of each other; while carcasses were left to decompose for around 3 weeks.

Photo – Stefania – AGtivist / Essere Animali.

In Spain, local investigators highlight the concentration of pigs in intensive farms, with pigs confined in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions, suffering from both untreated injuries and disease. Sows are enclosed in metal crates of barely two metres squared; preventing natural movement and leading to severe physical repercussions.

Further Link

Essere Animali – Organizzazione per i Diritti Animali
Chiuso un allevamento di conigli in gabbia dopo un nostro intervento
General News, Live Transport, Working Animals

The Donkey.

For many, the little humble donkey is quite simply a neglected, but essential, work tool for its owner. The brick carrier; the tourist transporter, the list is endless. For some, after a life of neglect and suffering, their days unfortunately end with them being sold, barbarically slaughtered, and becoming a ‘suppler of skins’ for use in the traditional Chinese ‘Egiao’ medicine market.

In this post we are simply giving pictures of the different working situations that donkeys find themselves in at different locations around the world. We also reference SPANA, – a British charity which is helping animal owners by providing free veterinary care and veterinary advice.

https://spana.org/about-us/#who_we_are

https://spana.org/about-us/our-work/

https://spana.org/about-us/our-work/#our_impact

The Donkey Skin Trade

https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/what-we-do/end-the-donkey-skin-trade

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/new-updates/how-chinas-craze-for-pakistani-donkeys-is-crushing-the-cash-strapped-countrys-poor/articleshow/121722462.cms

Brick Work Donkey

https://spana.org/working-animals/working-donkey-care/brick-kiln-donkeys/

https://spana.org/appeals/kilns-h1/

https://spana.org/success-stories/dhumo-the-brick-kiln-donkeys-excruciating-back-wound/

https://spana.org/success-stories/laloiya-the-donkeys-sore-back/

https://www.safehaven4donkeys.org/watch-broken-the-brick-kiln-donkeys-of-egypt/

https://www.thebrooke.org/our-work/exploitative-industries/brick-kilns

The Tourist Donkey

https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/articles/donkeys-in-tourism-and-leisure

https://www.peta.org.au/news/animals-beaten-at-egypt-tourist-sites/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1178797/Horses-donkeys-abroad-suffering-result-tourist-trade.html

THIS POST TO BE CONTINUED

Asia, Birds, Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport, pets, Stray Animals, Uncategorized, Wildlife

(Sri Lanka) Animal cruelty still punishable by Rs.100 fine

Animal Welfare Coalition

https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Animal-cruelty-still-punishable-by-Rs-100-fine/108-311404

12 June 2025 09:32 pm

Coalition (AWC) has raised concerns over the outdated legal framework governing animal cruelty offences in Sri Lanka, calling for swift legislative reforms to better protect animals.

According to Charuka Wickremesekera, an executive member of the AWC, the country’s current penalties for animal cruelty offences remain based on the Animal Cruelty Act of 1907, enforced through the Cruelty to Animals Ordinance. Under this ordinance, individuals found guilty of most animal cruelty offences can be fined up to 100 rupees, imprisoned for up to three months, or both. In cases involving the killing of an animal in an unnecessarily cruel manner, the maximum imprisonment term extends to six months.

Wickremesekera said that while the Sri Lanka Police continue to make efforts to tackle animal cruelty cases, the absence of robust, modern laws hinders their ability to impose adequate punishments and raise public awareness through legal action.

“It’s time to improve the legal system and protect animals better,” Wickremesekera said.

He also highlighted the growing role of social media in raising public consciousness about animal welfare issues. The sharing of videos exposing acts of animal abuse has not only discouraged such behaviour but also empowered the public to report incidents more readily.

“People now think several times before harming animals after seeing these videos online,” he said. “In the past, there may have been many cases of animal cruelty, but there were no proper organizations where people could complain. Now, many animal welfare groups receive a large number of complaints from the public.”

The AWC believes that alongside stronger laws, public engagement and awareness will play a critical role in eradicating animal cruelty in the country.

Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport, pets, Stray Animals, Uncategorized, Wildlife, Working Animals

New £100k award to fund students’ animal welfare projects

https://www.vettimes.com/news/vets/wellbeing-at-work/new-100k-award-to-fund-students-animal-welfare-projects


12 Jun 2025

Charity Worldwide Veterinary Service launches Global Veterinary Challenge Award with BVA to allow scholars to design bold and impactful international projects.

£100,000 award scheme to encourage students to devise big, bold and impactful international animal welfare projects was launched today (12 June).

WVS-organised sterilisation campaign in the Andes, Ecuador.

UK veterinary charity Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS) and the BVA joined forces to launch the Global Veterinary Challenge Award.

As part of the scheme, launched as part of BVA Live in Birmingham, students will be encouraged and empowered to design a project that champions an international animal welfare issue, and win the cash to help its launch.

Solutions

Students are being encouraged to develop an innovative, sustainable solution to a pressing global animal welfare issue close to their hearts.

The Global Veterinary Challenge Panel will judge the entries, with the winning project allocated funding up to £100,000 and the successful team or individuals working alongside WVS to bring it to life.

To apply, students must submit a proposal for any species that champions a welfare need in an effective, scalable and sustainable way and any location worldwide.

Work together’

Chief executive and founder of WVS, Luke Gamble, said: “The profession is most powerful when we work together as team. Most of us have causes we care about and sometimes it is incredibly hard to find a way to champion them. This challenge solves that.

“The winning idea will not only have funding, but full support to drive forward a project that will make an impactful difference. I couldn’t be more excited to see what comes in – remember, anyone can do easy – applicants need to think bold and big.”

And BVA president Elizabeth Mullineaux said: “At the BVA, our members care passionately about supporting and enhancing animal welfare and for many, myself included, it’s what propelled us to join this fantastic profession.”

‘Outstanding opportunity’

She added: “The WVS Global Challenge Award represents an outstanding opportunity for vet students to dive straight in and deliver real world welfare change for animals across the globe, all before they’ve even graduated.

“We’re looking forward to seeing the project ideas as they come in and the incredible impact this award will have, for both animals but also the students taking part.”

Winners will be announced at the BVA Awards during BVA Live in June 2026. Students can visit the WVS website or email globalchallenge@wvs.org.uk

Birds, Environmental, Farm Animals, General News, Live Transport, Religion/Philosophy

EU – When It Comes To Eggs; The Food Labelling System Tells You Everything You Need To Know; But Not With Meat Products. Surely As Consumers; We Should Have A Right To Make Informed Choices ?

Click to access SR-2024-23_EN.pdf

European consumers quite rightly, are a fairy switched on bunch when it comes to knowing what goes into the food that they eat. Yes or no ?

But, as animal campaigners; we question what we consider to be ‘adequate’ information relating to certain issues re animals and the food chain.

Lets take the humble egg as an example. There are more than 350 million laying hens in the EU. All these hens combined produce close to 6.7 MILLION TONNES of eggs each and every year.

The EU is rather good when it comes to standards and labelling for eggs purchased withing the EU (and still including the UK even after Brexit); of course; the UK was once an EU member state; so labelling was a regulatory requirement.

With EU / UK egg labelling; there is a Regulation – https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32008R0589 which defines the regulations for standards in egg production. Organic production methods; Free Range; Barn or Cage – the labelling system clearly provides the consumer at the supermarket with full details of their eggs – what system was used in their production – so that THE CONSUMER IS FULLY INFORMED AND CAN MAKE A CLEAR CHOICE of whet they are purchasing.

There is no confusion; to the point that every single egg is stamp marked as shown below to include the production method used; the country of origin; and a unique ‘farm ID’ in case of any specific issues relating to the production farm.

Pretty good well monitored and consumer informed system throughout the EU; which we as animal welfare campaigners fully support. The consumer is informed and they make their individual purchases accordingly.

Above – Caged Hens – NO

Below – Free Range – YES.

As welfare campaigners we say there is only one way for consumers to purchase their eggs – if they want to eat eggs – GO FREE RANGE. Compare the free range hens plumage above to that of battery hens below – is that image simply not enough alone to make egg eaters buy NON CAGED eggs.

So ok; there you basically have it – Consumer clear labelling relating to egg production, which allows them to make their independent clear choices.

So for this post; the heading basically says ‘when it comes to meat products, is the EU really telling the consumer what they would like to know?’. We don’t think so; if the labelling system is good for eggs; why the shortfalls for meat products in labelling ?

Cards on the table; I [Mark] have been a non-meat eater for 35+ years. Anything ‘that ever had a face’ is not part of my diet; but I accept there are still lots of carnivores out there. One question though I would ask them is simply; if EU legislation attempts to provide you with accurate labelling on your eggs, and how they were produced; then why not clear and precise labelling on how your meat was reared; AND ESPECIALLY HOW IT WAS KILLED !

Many EU and British citizens; when asked, simply abhor the thought of live animals being ritually slaughtered. But, unlike the ‘egg labelling system’; are EU consumers being led up the garden path when it comes to specific meat labelling?. There are two main methods of ritual slaughter which does not involve pre-stunning an animal before its death; – Shechita (Kosher) – the Jewish method; and Halal which is the Muslim method. Here is more reading from the UK Government about this:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/halal-and-kosher-slaughter#requirements-for-slaughter-without-stunning-for-kosher-meat

Above – Kosher method Beef Slaughter

Below – Halal method Chicken Slaughter

Click to access LDM_BRI%282012%29120375_REV2_EN.pdf

EU law requires that all animals being slaughters for the food chain are stunned and made unconscious prior to killing so that death should be ‘painless’; – hmm; ‘painless’ ? – we say ask the animals going through the process !

But within the EU there are exceptions for religious slaughter as detailed above. Jews and Muslims represent around 6% of the EU population.

Data from Ireland; an EU Member State (MS) showed that around 2010, showed that with just a 1% Muslim population; 6% of cattle, and 34% of sheep were slaughter without stunning. In a 2006/7 survey, it was seen that in France, another MS; 40% of Calves; 25% of Bovine cattle; and no less than 54% of Sheep were slaughtered without stunning.

The EU market for Kosher meat was worth around 5 Billion Euros in 2008.

THE REAL EU MEAT LABELLING ISSUE.

The following is very informative reading for reasons why there is NO standard legislation throughout the entire EU member states when it comes to meat produced by pre-stunning or religious specific methods. We especially suggest looking at the the data on ANNEX 7 – The Practice of Religious Slaughter In Every EU Member State.

Click to access EPRS_IDA(2023)751418_EN.pdf

Then we can unfortunately understand the EU reluctance, or refusal, to publish concise EU consumer – wide labelling about meat and meat products. When you enter an EU supermarket and are opposed to ritual animal slaughter; does the ‘EU labelling system’ express YOUR animal welfare concerns as a consumer ? – WE WOULD SUGGEST A BIG ‘NO’ !!

But then after all; religion never caused any wars; did it ?

And who in their right mind would want the EU to end up with Egg on its face ?