- Animal welfare campaigners have issued Irish Ferries with a formal legal notice regarding unweaned calf transport between Ireland and France
- The notice was sent on behalf of Compassion in World Farming France, QUATRE PATTES and WELFARM
- Irish Ferries is given 15 days to cease transport of unweaned calves from Ireland to Cherbourg
- More than 160,000 unweaned calves arrive in France each year
- The Dutch Food and Safety Authority revealed it will impose fines on four Irish carriers transporting unweaned calves to the Netherlands
Animal welfare groups have issued Irish Ferries with a formal legal notice in relation to what they claim are breaches of animal welfare legislation during the transport of unweaned calves between Ireland and France. The notice was sent on behalf of Compassion in World Farming France, QUATRE PATTES and WELFARM. Irish Ferries is currently the only company facilitating live-animal transports between Ireland and France. Following a sustained campaign by animal welfare groups, last year Stena Line stopped facilitating such transports from Ireland to France, while Brittany Ferries stopped live-animal transports between the two countries earlier this month.
Activists claim unweaned calves travelling from Ireland to France can go over 24 hours without food, which is a breach of EU law. They also state this situation can lead to calves becoming weak, suffering from dehydration and hypoglycaemia, and dying en route. The legal notice states that Irish Ferries is being given 15 days to cease the transport of unweaned calves from Ireland to the port of Cherbourg, or to suspend those operations until such time as their compliance with Regulation 1/2005 is established. The letter from de CAMBIAIRE & MEZIANI Associés, the French legal firm acting on behalf of the animal welfare groups, adds that if Irish Ferries does not respond within 15 days, the client reserves the right to pursue all available legal remedies.
Separately, the groups have written to the European Commission, calling on it to ensure that animal welfare legislation is fully enforced and to begin infringement proceedings against Ireland for allowing unweaned calves to be transported to France. European Commissioner for Animal Welfare Olivér Várhelyi previously indicated that he believed Irish authorities had had more than enough time to resolve the issue of feeding calves during the journey from Ireland to France. According to Head of CIWF France Yvan Savy, more than 160,000 unweaned calves arrive in France each year after journeys that raise serious concerns about compliance with EU animal welfare transport rules. Earlier this month, the Dutch Food and Safety Authority revealed it will impose fines on four Irish carriers transporting unweaned calves to the Netherlands.
