When will the UK ban live animal exports and why is it taking so long?

James West, Chief Public Affairs Manager at Compassion in World Farming, takes a look at the long-awaited Bill to ban live animal exports from Great Britain

Live exports involve farmed animals being crammed into vehicles on long, stressful journeys, some totalling over 100 hours, causing them to suffer from exhaustion, dehydration and, in some cases, animals even die en route.

Compassion in World Farming has been at the forefront of the campaign against this cruel and unnecessary trade for over 50 years.

Worldwide, every year, millions of farmed animals are forced to endure journeys of hundreds, or even thousands of miles, only to be slaughtered on arrival or fattened in often inhumane conditions.

It’s hard to believe that in Britain, a country that prides itself on being a nation of animal lovers and claims to have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world, has taken so long to make this trade illegal.

Even more surprising is that Britain has been lagging behind other countries such as Germany and Australia – all of whom have pledged to ban or phase out the trade.

But finally, it seems that the tides are about to turn, and real progress is being made to ban live exports once and for all.

The horrors of live animal exports

On several occasions I have witnessed first-hand the horrors inflicted on calves and sheep when they are exported.

To give an example, in 2018, along with some of my Compassion colleagues, I joined campaigners at Ramsgate port to protest against a shipment.

It was a harrowing experience to watch and hear young calves, packed into lorries, pass through the port to be loaded onto a ship and transported all the way to Spain.

Despite being just a few weeks old, these sentient beings had to endure this journey without their mothers.

It really brought home to me, once again, how important a ban on this trade is.

Although the last live export for slaughter or fattening to leave Great Britain was in December 2020, there is still a risk the trade could resume without a law being passed that bans live exports.

The introduction to Parliament of the long overdue Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill is a significant step towards finally seeing an end to the live exports of animals for slaughter or fattening from Great Britain.

The campaign against live animal exports

Over the decades, in the UK alone as part of the campaign to stop the trade, we’ve staged stunts, rallies and demonstrations across Great Britain to raise awareness, given evidence to Government consultations and even launched a judicial review of the Scottish Government that led to an end to live exports of calves from Scotland.

Our investigations have revealed just how much animals suffer during these journeys.

The footage is hard to watch, but it does highlight just how distressing and gruelling these journeys are for the animals involved.

We’ve even taken to the road ourselves, touring the country putting pressure on MPs in their own constituencies.

And each year on 14th June we organise Ban Live Exports: International Awareness Day, when actions are taken across the globe to send a strong message that governments must put a stop to this cruelty.

It is therefore welcome that, after all this relentless campaigning, change could finally be just around the corner here in Britain.

Keeping the pressure on

There have been many setbacks along the way.

Most recently, in May 2023, to our dismay and huge disappointment, the UK Government dropped the Kept Animals Bill – a Bill that was introduced to Parliament in 2021 and would have delivered a live exports ban if it had become law.

But we didn’t give up! It simply drove us to work harder and maintain pressure with actions such as a funereal-themed photo stunt outside Parliament last summer, urging the Government not to allow their promise to ban this trade to go to the grave.

Following the Government dropping the Kept Animals Bill, we secured over 95,000 petition signatures within just three months, calling on the Government to reintroduce the Kept Animals Bill.

This was submitted to the Prime Minister at Downing Street in September 2023 – two months later, the Livestock Exports Bill was listed as one of the Bills included in the State Opening of Parliament, which set out legislation the Government would introduce this year.

The petition secured extensive media coverage and endorsement from animal activists and vegan celebrities including Compassion’s Patron and long-term supporter, Dame Joanna Lumley.

The Bill to ban live exports

We were delighted when the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 4th December 2023.

It has now started making its way through, but there are many stages that it still must pass before it becomes law.

At the end of last year, the Bill passed through its Second Reading in the House of Commons and, due to cross-party support, it did so without needing a vote to pass to the next stage.

During that debate, the Secretary of State (Steve Barclay) thanked the tireless campaigners whose efforts over many ‘decades’ have helped raise awareness on this issue, and he specifically mentioned Compassion in World Farming’s campaigning.

This recognition was very welcome, but we aren’t there yet. The Bill continues to progress through Parliament.

It swiftly passed through The House of Commons and has now had its Second Reading in The House of Lords, where again Compassion in World Farming was mentioned several times as being one of the driving forces in campaigning to end this trade.

The Bill now moves to Committee Stage and if it passes its remaining stages in The Lords it can become law – something we hope will happen at pace, and certainly before the general election later this year.

When will live animal exports be banned in the UK?

There’s currently no set timescale for a law to ban live animal exports to come into force, but the end is in sight.

If and when the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill becomes law, it will finally end the live export of livestock for slaughter or fattening from Great Britain.

That moment will mark the culmination of something we have been campaigning for over five decades.

Live exports for other purposes, such as for breeding, will still be allowed provided animals are transported in line with legal requirements aimed at protecting their welfare.

This ban will have been an extremely long time coming. Live exports have been a stain on the UK’s animal welfare reputation for too long.

We eagerly await the Government’s promise to be fulfilled and, when it is, we and our loyal supporters will be ready to celebrate a great success in the history of campaigning to improve animal welfare.

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Featured photo © vadish via Adobe Stock