News

DOVER DOCKS TARGETED BY ANIMAL WELFARE GROUPS

Just days before the end of a 10 year ban on the export of live calves and cattle to the European continent, two leading animal welfare organisations are planning to descend on Dover docks to once again demand change.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) have united to call for a range alternatives before the exportation trade is resumed on May 3.

EU chiefs imposed the ten year export ban on cattle in 1996 at the height of the BSE scare. 

Experts believe veal producers will return to traditional transportation methods as no cheaper options have been found.

The RSPCA and CIWF are now calling for measures to help prevent the suffering of animals as they are exported abroad.

Included in the proposals are calls for the the dairy industry, from which most veal calves are sourced, to seek alternative outlets for excess dairy-bred calves and for the British Government to explore financial support mechanisms for rearing dairy-bred calves under higher welfare conditions within the UK and to end live exports.

Charity chiefs also want the EU to agree higher welfare standards for live animal transport and the public to ask retailers, caterers and restaurateurs if they serve humanely reared veal from the UK.

For more information about the campaign visit www.rspca.org or www.ciwf.org