Irish Ferries given legal notice over transport of calves

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 - sent on behalf of Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) France, QUATRE PATTES (FOUR PAWS France) and WELFARM - alleges that current transport practices fail to meet EU regulations regarding feeding requirements.

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 say this situation can lead to calves becoming weak, suffering from dehydration and hypoglycaemia, and even dying en route.

The legal notice, sent today and seen by RTÉ News, 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 (which provides for sufficient rest periods) 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 withing 15 days "our client reserves the right to pursue all available legal remedies in order to put an end to these practices".

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.

The activists said that European Commissioner for Animal Welfare Olivér Várhelyi has 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 ... yet no action has been taken".

Commenting on the legal notice, Director of Ethical Farming Ireland Caroline Rowley said Irish authorities "continue to ignore legislation and allow hundreds of thousands of young and vulnerable animals to suffer appallingly during the journey from Ireland to France.

She added that "as an authorised transporter Irish Ferries does have a responsibility to ensure that legislation is adhered to in full, which is clearly not the case. They also have a moral obligation to ensure animals do not suffer on their boats".

Read more:
Dutch to fine Irish carriers transporting unweaned calves
Dept defends welfare standards for calves exported from Ireland

Meanwhile, according to Head of CIWF France Yvan Savy said "more than 160,000 unweaned calves arrive in France each year after gruelling journeys that raise serious concerns about compliance with EU animal welfare transport rules.

"After these long and stressful sea journeys, the lorries pass through France to countries such as Poland, Netherlands and Spain. As scrutiny intensifies and other ferry operators step away from this trade, Irish Ferries should not be facilitating journeys that breach the law."

Earlier this month, the Dutch Food and Safety Authority (NVWA) announced it will impose fines on four Irish carriers transporting unweaned calves to the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is a key destination for Irish dairy calves sold to mainland Europe.

They are mostly used for veal production, and are usually transported via sea from Ireland to France, before making the rest of the journey via road.