News Article

Thousands of British veterinary surgeons are being asked to sign a petition on animal transport.

Animal welfare organisation Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), is writing to surgeries across the country asking vets to back a petition to the Minister of Agriculture to end the export of live animals from the UK for fattening or slaughter.

The petition calls on the Minister:

to end the export of live farm animals from the UK for slaughter or further fattening, and

to take the lead in persuading the UK's EU partners to adopt a major change of policy whereby the long distance transport of live animals throughout the EU is replaced, wherever possible, by a trade in meat.

According to Peter Stevenson CIWF's Political Director: "Many members of the veterinary profession have been opposed to live exports, believing that the occurrence of poor welfare could be reduced considerably by slaughtering animals near to the farm of rearing and transporting meat. CIWF believes that a fresh initiative from the profession calling for an end to live exports and the long distance transport of live animals would carry very considerable weight with government both here and in Europe."

Ministry of Agriculture figures show that in 1999 the number of UK lambs and sheep exported for slaughter abroad rose to 1.1 million.

Many animals are sent to Italy, Greece and Spain for slaughter.

Peter Stevenson expressed the hope that: "The veterinary profession will press for an end to the present situation in which live animals are transported on journeys of 40 or 50 hours or more across Europe and will call for these long journeys to be abandoned and replaced by a meat trade."