5th July 2007 updated 11th July 2007

In the first 4 months of this year over 600 under 42 days old calves travelled for over 2 days from Gloucestershire to Spain with only 2 rest stops.

The figures, that clearly demonstrate the appalling animal cruelty of the global food trade, were revealed in an answer by Ben Bradshaw, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (i).

Martin Whiteside, the Green party's Parliamentary spokesperson and a local District Council said: "These calves clearly suffer being taken from their mothers and then subjected to long journeys crammed in trucks. It is time the British Government listened to public opinion and ended live exports."

Martin Whiteside added: "In the EU alone each year around 3 million farm animals are transported huge distances across many countries; some journeys take 70-90 hours or more. Long distance transport not only inflicts serious welfare problems on animals, but also risks spreading infectious diseases. It was the export of live animals from the UK in 2001 that spread foot-and-mouth disease to France and Ireland and the transport in this country that has led to the spread of Cattle TB."

Update 11th July 2007: 

Of the 600 calves under 42 days old which travelled for over 2 days from Gloucestershire to Spain in the first 4 months of this year we have still been unable to ascertain how many died (ii).

Notes:

(i) See Hansard