Serbian Animals Voice (SAV)

With thanks to good friend Sue at the SP here in England:

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The Shoreham Protester was first issued during the live export protests at Shoreham Harbour in 1995. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/1000-police-drafted-to-animal-port-1566585.html

It now covers a whole range of animal rights issues, national and international, and is produced as a monthly newsletter, available by post for £12 (cheques made payable to SPAAA) for 10 issues and sent to 7 Stoneham Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 5HJ

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The small profit made from the sale of the paper goes directly to help animals.
The Shoreham Protester online edition reports a few of the main items from the newspaper

Veganism is taking off in Israel, where few people had even heard of the term a few years ago. Animal-rights organisations such as Anonymous and Let the Animals Live have operated for more than 2 decades, and there have always been vegetarians in Israel.  But while vegetarians are pretty common, abstaining from eggs and dairy products has been perceived here as an esoteric practice adopted by health-freaks or high-school radicals. So, how did the vegan craze hit Israel’s shores?  By most accounts, it all started in April of last year, when Daniel Erlich and Hovav Amir, 2 animal-rights activists who run the online TV show Animal Log, added Hebrew subtitles to an American lecture about veganism and posted it on YouTube under the title “the best speech you’ll ever hear.” The lecturer is a Jewish American animal-rights activist named Gary Yourofsky, who usually speaks to high-school and college students in the United States. He is considered a criminal or even a terrorist by many, is banned from entering Canada and the U.K., and has a long history of arrests. He even spent 77 days in a Canadian maximum-security prison once, after raiding a fur farm. Yourofsky doesn’t hesitate to use shock-tactics: He calls eggs “chicken period” and honey “bee vomit,” and frequently advocates violence. His angry speech would probably cause any hamburger-eater to feel terribly guilty. In it, he combines statistics, nutrition information, and discussions of morality, interspersed with shocking films of slaughterhouses. News of the eye-opening lecture spread virally and with the help of activists handing out leaflets. Erlich and Amir even got a leading tofu manufacturer to print a QR code on tofu packages linking to the Israeli Yourofsky site. More than half a million Israelis have watched the YouTube video. Many others attended, and keep attending, screenings at universities, schools, and various public places around the country, and last September Yourofsky himself held a successful lecture tour in Israel—his first outside the United States—which was accompanied by much media coverage. Erlich and Amir can now boast that more than 700,000 Israelis, close to 10% of the country’s population, have heard Yourofsky’s gospel.  “I think that experts on the Israeli vegan scene will agree to the estimate that at least a few thousands have become vegan after watching Gary’s speech,” Amir told said in an interview. Now the signs of Israel’s vegan revolution are everywhere. There are vegan cooking courses and workshops, vegan blogs, online vegan cooking programmes, a new smartphone app called Vegan Spotting that locates vegan dishes served in your area, and a slew of new businesses that cater to vegans, like an online vegan shop  selling everything from vegan pet food to condoms. Vegan Friendly is a new initiative making the vegan lifestyle in Israel easier and more accessible by identifying vegan restaurants, cafés, hotels, and other establishments. There even is a Facebook page for Israeli vegan parents looking for help figuring out what to feed their kids.

Australia’s largest supermarket chain, Coles, will as of January 1 stop selling company branded pork and eggs from animals kept in factory farms. As an immediate result, 34,000 mother pigs will no longer be kept in stalls for long periods of their lives, and 350,000 hens will be freed from cages. Not to be outdone, the nation’s other dominant supermarket chain, Woolworths, has already begun phasing out factory farmed animal products. In fact all of Woolworth’s house brand eggs are now cage-free, and by mid-2013 all of their pork will come from farmers who operate stall-free farms. Coles and Woolworths together account for a dominant 80% of all supermarket sales in Australia. The move to open up the cages was fuelled by “consumer sentiment,” and it has been synchronous with a major campaign against factory farming of animals led by Animals Australia. The campaign features a TV ad, titled “When Pigs Fly,” in which an adorable piglet tells the story of animals sentenced to life in cramped cages, and then flies to freedom.  http://vimeo.com/51967590

Brazil has notified international animal health regulators of its first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE, commonly called mad cow disease. The cow died 2 years ago, but the test confirming the deadly brain disease was not done until 18 months later, and the results not made public until Thursday. This time lag allowed Brazil to export roughly 67m pounds of beef to the United States since the suspect Brazilian cow was identified.

Israeli dairy giant Tnuva faces criminal probe for alleged animal abuse. The Environmental Protection Ministry launched a criminal investigation against Tnuva following an exposé aired by the television investigative programme Kolbotek on mistreatment of animals at its Adom Adom slaughterhouse. About 300 animal rights activists gathered in Tel Aviv on Monday – International Animal Rights Day – to protest abuse. In response to the programme and the resultant investigation, Adom-Adom CEO Erez Wolf stressed that the company “unequivocally condemns this behaviour,” detailing a number of steps that had been taken against the employees involved. “Abuse is not kosher,” the protesters chanted, according to the group Anonymous for Animal Rights. “The Tnuva CEO must resign.” Actress Orna Banai likewise took part in the demonstration, calling for a consumer boycott of Tnuva products and stressing that the company must be held accountable for evading its responsibilities. Members from the Left and Right, meat-eaters and vegetarians, ultra-Orthodox and secular showed up to the protest and echoed Banai’s call. “We must remember that if these seem to be the procedures and guidelines at the largest and most advanced slaughterhouse in Israel, the grave abuse that we have seen in the Kolbotek investigation is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Hagai Cohen from Anonymous.

Turkey cruelty – no charges

The top prosecutor in Sampson, Duplin and Onslow counties said that there is insufficient evidence of animal abuse by workers at farms linked to Butterball LLC to pursue criminal charges. Mercy for Animals conducted an undercover investigation in October and collected hidden-camera video of what the animal rights group described as turkeys being kicked, stomped on, dragged by their wings or necks and thrown into crates on top of other birds.

E-coli contamination ignored

Federal beef inspectors at the XL Foods plant in southern Alberta whose E. coli crisis sparked the country’s largest meat recall were ordered to turn a blind eye to contamination on carcasses being processed for sale to Canadians, CTV News has learned, a directive that was imposed by the inspectors’ supervisors lasting 4 years. The 2008 memo written by a Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) meat hygiene supervisor at the Brooks, Alta., plant, obtained by CTV, instructed CFIA inspectors stationed at one of the plant’s final inspection stops to give extra scrutiny to carcasses shipped to Japan, but to ignore visible faecal and intestinal contamination on meat for Canadians. “Our number 1 priority is to ensure this standard is met with Japan eligible carcasses,” the memo said of the inspection station.  “Ensure that non-Japan-eligible carcasses are not inspected for spinal cord/dura-matter, OCD (other carcass defects) and minor ingesta,” the note continued. “Ignore them.” The union representing workers at the Brooks plant says this practice is “ridiculous.” “There’s one standard for beef being shipped to Japan and there’s another standard for beef being shipped elsewhere,” said Doug O’Halloran, president of United Food & Commercial Workers Local 401. “It is incredible that you could allow material to leave the plant that could have contamination on it just because it’s not going to Japan. “No disrespect to Japan, but what about the rest of the human beings in the world? It’s like we’re second class citizens,” he said. The memo – dated Sept. 12, 2008 – was sent to CFIA inspection staff at the Brooks, Alta., plant and was re-issued to them again in 2010 and 2011. The CFIA memo added that the contaminants can be detected later on in the meat-processing process, something with which the union representing CFIA inspectors disagree.

White lion cubs exported for Japanese circus

4 rare white lion cubs born in a UK safari park have been sent to perform in a Japanese circus after being trained in a British facility. The cubs were born at W. Midlands Safari Park, in Bewdley, Worcester, in 2008 but will spend their adult lives entertaining crowds in the Far East.

Animal rights charities have expressed outrage after discovering they were flown 6,000 miles to Japan’s Circus Kinoshita.   The animals were given to British businessman Jim Clubb who runs Amazing Animals, which also goes by the name Heythrop Zoological Gardens, in Chipping Norton, Oxon.  A Japanese investigator working for CAPS discovered one of the lions has been moved to a zoo in the west of the country after it was attacked by the other circus animals. The lion is reported to have developed a ‘nervous disease called autonomic ataxia’ causing his mane to completely fall out.  CAPS director Liz Tyson said: ‘The current Government has promised an outright ban on the use of wild animals in circuses as a result of overwhelming public, expert and parliamentary support.  ‘And yet here we have a zoo apparently providing lion cubs to this cruel and unethical trade via a middleman, whilst publicising their work to their paying visitors as based in conservation and welfare.  ‘It is an appalling betrayal of those people that trust the zoo to protect and care for the animals.  ‘But most importantly, it is an appalling betrayal of the lion cubs who appear to have been abandoned to this hopeless fate by W. Midland Safari Park.’  An investigation by CAPS claim the safari park has close ties with Clubb’s animal entertainment business. In 2007 Clubb appeared on the zoo’s own TV channel talking about his company which provides animals to the entertainment industry. Jim Clubb confirmed he had provided the lions to the circus – saying it was ‘business.’  He said: ‘We did receive the lion cubs from W. Midlands Safari Park and provided them to the circus in Japan.  ‘There is nothing illegal or underhand about this whatsoever. I will not discuss our financial arrangements but we are a business of course.  ‘I have no idea whether West Midlands Safari Park knew the lions would be going to the circus, that is a matter for them. I will not go into the arrangement we have with them.’  The safari park – which attracts 1.3m visitors each year – confirmed they had ‘sent’ white lions to Clubb ‘in good faith and were unaware of any subsequent moves.’   The Mail 27^th Nov

A trailer full of circus animals overturned on an interstate in Georgia, trapping several animals inside.   The driver of the truck was transporting llamas, ponies, camels and zebras to the UniverSoul Circus in Savannah when he lost control, hitting a sign, authorities said.   The trailer full of 8 circus animals detached and fell on its side as the truck came to a halt atop a guardrail.   Neither the driver nor the animals were seriously injured.   But several animals were stuck behind metal partitions after the accident. Firefighters arrived at the scene to help the animals escape from the trailer uninjured. NY Daily News Nov 20

Mumbai is now gearing up to fight for the rights of circus animals across the country. Members of an animal rights organisation protested outside a circus camp in Bandra. The protesters, chained and wearing masks of elephants, held signs that read, ‘Abolish Slavery: Ban Animal Circuses’. According to the animal rights activists, all circus animals are treated like slaves.

After decades of captivity inside America’s zoos, the elephants arrived broken in many different ways. Maggie barely survived the harsh winters of the tiny Alaska Zoo. Confined many days to a cramped, indoor pen, she developed crippling foot and joint disease, collapsing to the floor – lifted only by a crane. Zookeepers conceded that frigid Anchorage was no place for a 4-ton tropical beast. Annie spent much of her life in chains at the Milwaukee County Zoo until the public learned of brutal training sessions. Zookeepers routinely anchored the elephant’s feet with chains, then struck and gouged her with a bullhook, even videotaping sessions to teach others how to make an elephant perform on command. And there is Wanda, whose cracked feet and arthritic legs deteriorated with each bitter winter at the Detroit Zoo. Its officials concluded that captivity was unnecessarily cruel for the world’s largest land mammal. The 3 elephants now share a different life at a 2,300-acre compound nestled in the San Andreas foothills. Pat Derby, co-founder of the sanctuary, says, “This is where elephants come to die.” But if the zoo industry’s trade group had its way, their elephants would never come at all. The Northern California sanctuary, and another in Tennessee, could represent a welcome, zero-cost option for zoos with aging or ill elephants. Instead, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) opposes sanctuaries for a key reason: Sanctuaries refuse to breed more elephants into captivity. Privately-owned sanctuaries are not open to the public and “inhibit zoos’ efforts to preserve and study elephants,” says Bruce Bohmke, deputy director of Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo and member of the AZA national committee that oversees elephant management inside accredited zoos. “We believe that breeding is essential to sustaining elephant populations in zoos,” Bohmke said. Despite repeatedly telling the public that elephants are thriving in captivity, the zoo industry knows otherwise and is desperate to breed more elephants. For every elephant born in a U.S. zoo, on average 2 others die, a Seattle Times analysis has found. Under current conditions, with just 288 elephants inside 78 accredited U.S. zoos, they could be “demographically extinct” within 50 years, studies show. Seattle Times 2 Dec

Jailed for abuse in Eire

In July 2011 a Dublin man, John Byrne, who had been living rough for over 20 years had his rabbit, Barney, thrown callously into the River Liffey by a passerby. The 37-year-old risked his life by jumping in after his beloved pet and saving him with the kiss of life before he himself had to be rescued by firefighters. Shortly afterwards the person responsible for abusing the rabbit was apprehended. Gary Kearney, who is currently serving a 6 year jail sentence, was given a 4 month sentence on top of what he is already doing, for throwing Barney into the river.  ARAN was delighted with the 4 month sentence handed down, the judge stated he was not going to be lenient and that it was a serious case. Most animal abuse cases rarely make it to court, let alone the offenders getting a fine, so 4 months is to be welcomed. Of course we also asked for a psychological evaluation of Kearney and a personal ban on owning animals for life. We did not get this however. Shortly after the case, media outlets nationwide began picking up on the story and all over Facebook it was causing a hugely positive mood for the many people speaking out against cruelty to animals.

Almost half of Gibraltar’s famous monkeys could be shipped off the Rock as they are considered ‘fearless’ of humans. Although friendly charming and inquisitive the wild Barbary Macaques are increasingly running riot through the town’s streets. ‘They’ve lost their fear of humans and regard them as a source of rich food,’ said Gibraltar’s Environment Minister Dr John Cortes. Almost 60 people needed hospital treatment this year after being bitten by one of the monkeys. A government led campaign, titled Get Our Monkeys Back To Nature, has since been launched to teach people not to feed the iconic primates. Feeding the Barbary Macaques is illegal and punishable by a fine but the law is routinely ignored, particularly by tourists who flock to the areas around Apes Den and the Siege Tunnels at the top of the Rock. The campaign is part of a wider action plan being developed by the colony’s government with the support of primate experts at the Born Free Foundation. A boost to a contraceptive programme forms part of the scheme as does ‘the possibility of relocating up to 120 monkeys to north Africa’, according to a government statement. Dr Cortes, an authority on the Barbary Macaques, said that the current population is around 230. He reiterated that culling was not supported by the government. Although the Barbary macaque is a much-loved national symbol of Gibraltar mystery surrounds its arrival on the Rock.  Their existence was noted by the first chronicler of Gibraltar in the early 17^th century. Gibraltar’s monkeys were under the often affectionate care of the British Army, and later the Gibraltar Regiment, from 1915 to 1991.  Sgt. Alfred Holmes was one well remembered Officer-in-Charge of the monkeys who cared for, fed, nursed and named the monkeys for almost 30 years from the mid-1950s.  Holmes described the monkeys as Gibraltar’s ‘greatest treasure’ and even ensured any sick animals were attended by the same doctors as soldiers at the Royal Naval Hospital. A belief that the Rock will stay British as long as the monkeys remain was behind a move by Sir Winston Churchill to import monkeys when the Gibraltar population plummeted to just 7 individuals during World War Two.  The species is commonly referred to as the ‘Barbary ape’ though the light brown animal is actually a stubby-tailed monkey.  Dr Cortes said the campaign would present challenges but would succeed with community support.

25 wild bottlenose dolphins that once roamed free in the Pacific are facing a life of boredom, stress, frustration and slow death, thanks to Resorts World, which plans to confine them at their attraction at Sentosa, Singapore.  You can complain to the resort via a a link at www.saddestdolphins.com  It’s worth posting a comment on Sentosa Resort’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/#!/TheSentosa?fref=ts

A dying rhino summoned the strength to save her calf as poachers went on a killing spree on a game reserve in South Africa, keepers said. The slaughter lasted between 3 and 4 days and left maggot-covered carcasses dotted across the landscape at the Finfoot Game Reserve near Sun City in North West province. Gamekeepers said after being shot at, the pride of the reserve named Longhorn realised she would die. But in a final act of bravery she led her 18-month-old calf to the reserve farm’s lodge, where she would be safe. Longhorn, who was 24-years-old, was then butchered for her 3ft-long horn. Rhino horn is highly sought after and is sold for around $60000 per kilo. Another calf found by gamekeepers did not escape the slaughter – it was found lying next to its mother, butchered for its tiny horn that measured just an inch.

Longhorn was the first animal Mr Lappeman bought from the Natal Parks Board, and the reason he spent 25 years caring for his breeding herd of White Rhino on his farm. Her calf has been taken to a place of safety. Since the slaying, a group of 7 men has been working around the clock to protect the remainder of the herd, with the help of Mark Prangley, an anti-poaching operator. Mr Lappeman says it is inevitable that the poachers will return. ‘Its not “if”, it’s “when”,’ he told Times Live.  ‘We are fighting a bush war against trained professionals, with people who are not trained for it,’ he says.  Pelham Jones, chairman of the SA Rhino Owners’ Association, said: ‘We are losing this war and people who think there is a quick fix are living in denial.’  Mr Prangley, however, proposes a practical solution: ‘Kill the poachers.’  5 men have been arrested in connection with the massacre and are due to appear at Brits Magistrates’ Court next week charged with illegal possession of a firearm and poaching.
Sales of fur reached record highs this year, the International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF) has said, as China’s growing appetite for luxury goods put the once-taboo material back on the catwalks. The value of the global fur market should exceed $15bn this year, compared with $9.1bn in 2000, driven by demand from the growing affluent classes of China and Russia, the industry body said.

Fur farming to continue in Ireland

Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney has said fur farming of mink will be allowed to continue in Ireland. He is reversing a decision by the last government to close down the industry on welfare grounds at the end of Nov. Mr Coveney said lots of people are uncomfortable with the industry but it is not that different from intensive farming in other sectors and if he was to close its down, significant compensation would have to be paid to the fur farmers that operate here. Mr Coveney has, however, pledged that while fur farming in Ireland will not be prohibited, more stringent conditions of inspection, veterinary attention and animal welfare will be introduced. Fur farm licences will be reviewed every 5 years, and any fur farm can be inspected, without prior notice.30 Nov RTE News

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Please click on the following for more information:

KAALE – Mon 10th Dec – Official RSPCA Brief on Live Animal…

The Kent Action Against Live Exports (KAALE) website can be accessed at http://www.kaale.org.uk 

Long distance live transport and the transport of animals to the continent

brieflivetrans

Overview

The RSPCA believes that animals suffer during long distance live transport and supports a
‘carcass only’ trade. Animals have often been crammed into trucks on UK roads for hours
before facing a gruelling channel crossing of up to another six hours before heading for
conditions illegal in this country.

The RSPCA wants to see:

An end to long-distance transport of live animals in favour of a ‘carcass-only’ trade

A maximum eight-hour journey time for all animals travelling for slaughter or
‘further fattening’ across the EU Amendments to existing legislation that allow ports to refuse the cruel trade in live animals.

While the trade continues, for the full costs of veterinary and Animal Health
regulatory inspections as well as lairage and emergency facilities to be borne by the
hauliers, rather than by the taxpayer.

Introduction

European rules on the live animal transport of animals agreed in 2005 (Regulation 1/2005/EC) and
implemented in England by the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order in 2006 lay down
general conditions for the transport of animals, including that they should not be transported so that
they are caused injury or suffering, and give specific rules on journey times for animals and the
authorisation process for transporters, vehicles and ships.

Journey times vary according to different species. Whilst there is an eight hour maximum journey
time, this can be extended if the vehicle meets a number of additional standards such as ventilation
systems maintaining a range of temperatures from 5 degrees C to 30 degrees C, a navigation system to record the journey times and appropriate bedding and food.

Maximum journey times vary from 19 hours for calves to 24 hours for horses and pigs and 29 hours
for sheep before a 24 hour rest is required. Following this rest other journey times can be taken until the final destination is reached.

What is the present situation on the long distance transport of animals?

The live transport trade in calves from the UK to other countries was virtually brought to a halt for
about a decade (1996–2006) by the outbreak of BSE. The total numbers of all farm animals exported
from the UK for slaughter or further fattening has been slowly declining from 752,000 in 2000 to
437,000 in 2009, with over 70% of these being sheep. In 2012 around 30,000 sheep will be
transported through Ramsgate. Trade in calves has also been impacted by concerns from certain
importing countries about Bovine TB but resumed in 2007 when 93,000 calves were transported to
the continent, a figure which steadily declined to just under 7,000 in 2009 and is expected to be
around 6,000 in 2012. This trade has declined as it has become more economic to keep and raise the
calves in the UK.

What are the concerns of the RSPCA?

The trade in live animals changed to Ramsgate from Dover in May 2010 as the loading bay in the port
of Dover had been damaged. One sailing occurred in 2012 from Ipswich when the port owners
closed Ramsgate. The RSPCA has sent inspectors to inspect all vehicles passing through Ramsgate in
April 2012 after consulting with Thanet District Council, the owner of the port, which gave permission
for our inspectors to be present.

Although the RSPCA has no statutory powers it was initially able to inspect all vehicles going through
the port. Animal Health, the statutory body responsible for carrying out animal welfare checks at
ports and at loading, carries out risk based inspection which means that a third of vehicles are
inspected. The RSPCA has inspected 15 sailings and 60 vehicles from two ports (Ramsgate and
Ipswich) in the five month period to the end of September 2012. Since October although RSPCA
inspectors are still present at Ramsgate, inspections have became more difficult to undertake on
every vehicle as the transporters have closed down the shutters on the vehicles, and Animal Health
have not informed us of sailings. As the RSPCA has no statutory powers, it is difficult to properly
inspect vehicles unless we have the cooperation of Animal Health.

The RSPCA concerns fall into five main areas:

1. The condition of the ship being used to cross the channel, the Joline.

This is an old Russian tank carrier that was used as a river ferry and has been upgraded for ocean
transit. It can transport up to six articulated lorries at a maximum speed of 8 knots. As it is flat
bottomed with a shallow draft, it is more exposed to poor weather conditions. It’s travel is therefore
limited to wind conditions below Force 6 (the SCAHAW report into the welfare of animals during
transport in 2002 recommended to the EU Commission that journeys of Ro-Ro ferries should not be
permitted in wind conditions above a Force 5).
However, on 21 November 2012, it was allowed to set sail for Calais and had to return to port some
four hours later, as the weather had deteriorated and the sea was breaking across the vessel. As the
vessel is slow there is little flexibility in the time taken to cross to Calais (four and six hours) and the
maximum journey time limit for transport of calves (nine hours after their one hour statutory rest
requirements at the port). In another sailing, adverse weather warnings held the boat at Ramsgate
for two hours and the lorries were in danger of exceeding their nine hour limit allowed before the rest period occurred. The sheep that were on the ferry on 21st November had to be rested for 24
hours as they had reached their maximum journey time. They were then exported on 23rd
November. When the Joline sailed from Ipswich the 15 hour journey time meant that the sheep
were also close to their maximum journey time allowed .

2. The conditions used to transport the animals over long distances

The RSPCA would prefer to see a carcass trade rather than a live trade and believe that a journey
time of eight hours should be the maximum allowed.

The RSPCA has issued six warning notices to vehicles involved in the trade through Ramsgate
in the six month period it was inspecting every vehicle for infractions. One vehicle had to have all
its sheep offloaded and 46 subsequently had to be euthanized due to lameness or other problems.
Another vehicle has been refused to continue its journey as it had a tyre problem.

Since September 2012 all animals being transported are subject to a system of supervised loading
(we are unsure what supervised loading actually is, and have suspicions that welfare problems will be
missed because of the need for expediency), and inspection by Government inspectors at the control
post. As this occurs a matter of hours before the vehicle reaches the port, official inspections are
limited or non-existent at the port. The RSPCA believes that welfare problems can arise in the
interim period, and further inspections should occur at the port. One animal had to be euthanized
due to a ripped horn found by RSPCA inspectors at the port, despite it being in the period when
supervised loading was occurring.

3. The unloading facilities required at ports

Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 states that in the case of emergencies (Article 23) the animals
should be able to be transferred to another means of transport, returned to their place of departure
or be unloaded and held in suitable accommodation. Breaches of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 may
also ensue if the provisions of the Regulation are not complied with. The RSPCA has issued a report
stating that ten issues need to be provided at a port to comply with Article 23 including covered
lairage area to accommodate all animals, adequate flooring and isolation areas. The RSPCA has
conducted visits to Ramsgate, Ipswich and Newhaven and the evidence collated shows that these
ports do not meet such standards.

4. Enforcement

The RSPCA is concerned that enforcement of existing live transport laws is lacking in many Member
States, including the UK. The European Commission’s own report into live transport states that
effective enforcement remains a major challenge. However the Commission has decided not to
review or amend Regulation 1/2005 but to focus on improving enforcement, although how it will
achieve this remains unclear.

For further information about this please contact politicalaffairs@rspca.org.uk

December 2012

The RSPCA also has concerns that the animals are going to conditions illegal in this country. For
instance the calves sent abroad in 2012 have mainly been destined for Spain, where standards for
housing calves are below those in the UK, in particular, the provision of bedding for the animals. The
sheep in the trade are probably destined for France and many were transported for the Eid festival
following Ramadan. As agreement on updating the EU labelling laws has not been reached, it is legal
for an animal being slaughtered in France to be labelled as produce of France despite it spending the
majority of its life in the UK. It is hoped that the country of origin law currently being discussed by
the European institutions will prohibit this.

5. Ports should be able to choose

Under the 1847 Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act ports are limited in their ability to stop the live
animal trade occurring through their port. The RSPCA believes that if the port owners do not want
the trade going through their port because they do not have the facilities, or there is public demand
for the trade to stop, they should be allowed to stop the trade.

Conclusion

The RSPCA believes that the trade in animals should be a carcass only one. Indeed over 80% of the
trade is already in this format. The trade in live animals only continues for a small number of
reasons:
• port owners are not able to choose whether to stop the trade,
• confusing labelling rules means that animals can be passed off as being from the country of
slaughter rather than the country of production, and
• because the full economic costs of the trade including enforcement costs do not fall to the
trader or exporter.

The RSPCA believes that given the current set of circumstances within the UK, the long distance
transport of animals can never be properly enforced. Whilst the European Commission has decided
not to make any changes to the present legislation, the UK should use current legislation which
allows it to set higher standards than the Regulation in order to help safeguard animal welfare, whilst
proactively encouraging a carcass-only trade.

Filed under: CAMPAIGNS - Global Animal Welfare Issues, GENERAL NEWS - International / National / Regional | Leave a comment »