Three days of action follow meeting with Commissioner for Animal Welfare
It’s been a busy week of actions across four countries for five animal welfare NGOs, campaigning to end the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Irish calves.
Meeting with Commissioner Várhelyi
In 2022 the European Commission conducted an audit on the export of unweaned calves from Ireland to France and the report stresses that these journeys are being carried out in breach of EC Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport because the calves are not being fed after the maximum 19 hour time limit.
Yet since the report was published in December 2023 nearly 400,000 unweaned calves have been exported. Nothing has changed.
In February this year a joint letter was sent to Commissioner Várhelyi signed by over 20 NGOs asking what action is going to be taken following the audit and urging the Commissioner to initiate infringement proceedings against the Irish authorities for not enforcing legislation.
No response was received so a follow up was sent on 8th September that detailed how three separate studies had been conducted on the impact of these journeys on the health and well-being of calves and they all found that the calves were negatively impacted, suffering from dehydration, muscle fatigue, low energy and hypoglycaemia. A trial was conducted in October 2023 on a truck with a feeding system but it failed miserably. So another trial is planned, with a truck with an automatic feeding system this time, but this will take years and is likely to fail again, if such a truck can be designed at all.
This time the Commissioner did respond and surprisingly signatories of the letter were invited to a meeting. Caroline Rowley from Ethical Farming Ireland and Vinciane Patelou from Compassion in World Farming met with Commissioner Varhelyi on 24th September at the European Commission in Brussels. 
There was a discussion around all the issues with calf export, explicitly that they cannot be fed during the ferry journey from Ireland to France, that studies have shown this causes harm and suffering, and that currently there is no truck in existence that can feed calves during transport. The Commissioner agreed that it has been a long time since the audit was concluded and there has been no advancement with regard to feeding systems during transport. The Commissioner listened to all our concerns raised and stated that the law must be adhered to by all Member States in relation to calf export. There was also discussion around the fact that only 10% of calves are exported and the dairy sector is not dependent on live export, contrary to the impression given by the Irish authorities and farming lobby groups. There will be a follow up in a couple of weeks to ascertain what steps are being taken by the Commissioner.
“EU citizens have an expectation that laws will be enforced, otherwise there is no point in having them. It cannot be denied that these journeys are causing harm and suffering to hundreds of thousands of unweaned calves and it cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely, in the hope that one day a truck might be developed than can feed calves. We are very grateful to Commissioner Varhelyi for inviting us to meet with him to discuss our concerns” states Caroline Rowley, director of Ethical Farming Ireland.
Three days of action!
Day One
On Saturday 27th September Ethical Farming Ireland held a protest at Cork Port, Ringaskiddy where Brittany Ferries has a sailing to Roscoff, France, because they started carrying livestock trucks from Rosslare in March of this year. Livestock trucks are not carried on the Cork to Roscoff route, but the boat used, the Pont-Aven, has the capacity to carry 2,400 passengers and the aim was to get their attention!
In March this year a joint letter was sent to Brittany Ferries with over 120 signatories. There was no response so a follow up letter was sent in July. Silence. The CEO of Brittany Ferries, Christophe Mathieu, refused to engage. So EFI members and supporters gathered to send a clear message to Brittany Ferries to stop profiting from cruelty and suffering, and also to ensure their customers know what they have got involved in. Brittany Ferries was fully informed of all the issues and legal implications back in 2023 before they were involved in the cruel and outdated industry. They chose to go ahead anyway. A shameful decision indeed. 
“Brittany Ferries made the decision this year to become embroiled in a cruel and controversial industry. They were fully aware that unweaned calves cannot be fed milk during the 18 hour journey from Ireland to France and they were fully aware of how harmful prolonged feed deprivation is – we’ve sent them studies and investigation reports. They were fully aware these journeys are deemed unlawful by the European Commission – we sent them the audit report confirming this. Yet they went ahead anyway. Pet friendly cabins upstairs, hungry and thirsty calves in the decks below. Brittany Ferries is lying to their customers when they claim to care about animal welfare, so we are exposing the truth” claims Caroline Rowley.
Day two
On Sunday 28th September Compassion in World Farming held a protest outside the Brittany Ferries office at Portsmouth port. Brittany Ferries stopped carrying livestock from the UK 30 years ago so it is shameful that they have taken it up again, now that so much is known about the industry and the harm it inflicts on animals. Their supporters have sent 200,000 emails to Brittany Ferries urging them to reverse their decision. The plan was to deliver a giant postcard to the Brittany Ferries office but they wouldn’t accept it, so they are posting it to the headquarters in Roscoff instead.
Deputy Director of Global Campaigns, Charlotte Reid stated “Ferry companies who transport live animals on long sea journeys aren’t just profiting from animal suffering, they’re alienating their customers who care about animals and participating in a practice that is completely unnecessary. “As Brittany Ferries have ignored our letters, we’re gathering our supporters to send a direct message to them this weekend in three different countries to stop this cruelty now and we will continue to campaign until the cruelty ends.”
Day three
On Monday, September 29 the third action took place when Compassion in World Farming France, Four Paws, Welfarm and L214 gathered in front of the headquarters of Brittany Ferries, in Roscoff with another open letter signed by 11 NGOs, including Ethical Farming Ireland. A meeting with the CEO Christophe Mathieu was agreed to this time, which was a positive move. Demands were listened to, but no commitments made. Another meeting is planned in November to continue discussions.
Hopefully Brittany Ferries will make the right decision and distance themselves once again from this cruel and immoral industry, and the Commission will take action against the Irish authorities for continuously breaching legislation. We will not stop applying pressure, both to ferry companies and the Commission, until the law is applied in full and unweaned calves are no longer subjected to such suffering.
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