Eating Better is supporting the Compassion in World Farming - Stop Live Transport campaign to raise awareness and demonstrate opposition to long distance transport of, live animals.
Erin Cameron, Campaign Officer at Compassion in World Farming has said ‘millions of live animals are transported thousands of kilometres every year. It has been shown that animals are kept in overcrowded and inhumane conditions often suffering from exhaustion, dehydration, pain, stress and disease.’
The UK currently exports over 40,000 calves and sheep to Spain, France and the Netherlands for slaughter and further fattening. Long journeys can cause immense suffering with journey times ranging from 25 hours to over 100 hours. Animals can suffer from starvation, dehydration and exhaustion. They face over-crowding, high summer temperatures and can sustain injuries and even death. These animals include unweaned calves who are particularly at risk. They do not have fully developed immune systems and cannot regulate their body temperature.
Once the animals leave our shores, they are no longer protected by our higher animal welfare rules and standards. We also lose control of where they ultimately end up. Animals shipped to Spain and Italy, can be sent further on, to places such as Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa where animal welfare protection is less stringent.
The third annual Stop Live Transport: International Day of Awareness is being held on the 14 June 2018 to mark the end of a horrific voyage that took place in 2015 when 13,000 sheep perished while being shipped from Romania.
The latest Eating Better report - ‘Principles for eating meat and dairy more sustainably: the ‘less and better’ approach’ provides practical guidance towards choosing less and better meat and dairy. We are encouraging people to reduce their meat and dairy consumption and choosing better for the meat and dairy they do consume.
Choosing better for animals means choosing meat and dairy from well managed production systems that enable natural behaviour, support good health and provide a natural diet. This includes all stages of an animal’s life.
Unless we have direct experience of conditions on a particular farm, the simplest way of doing this is choosing products with a credible animal welfare certification, such as organic, RSPCA Assured, or Pasture For Life.
If you would like to support the Stop Live Transport campaign, then - take action, by taking part in a rally, signing a petition or sharing information about this on social media.