Anger as live export calves in non-stop transit for more than 14 hours

Calves being shipped to Spain Photo Stop Live Exports from the Port of Ramsgate

Live Export protesters say some 260 calves being transported from Ramsgate to Spain, via Calais, have been travelling in excess of 14 hours non-stop due to problems with the vessel Joline.

The two to five week old calves have, in total, been in transit for more than 50 hours after the shipment left Scotland at 7am on Thursday and arrived at Ramsgate at 5.30pm.

Believed technical problems with the Joline meant the calves were taken to a local lairage facility and offloaded.
Last night (January 11) the calves were loaded onto the transporter again and to sail from Ramsgate port at 11pm.

A spokesman for Stop Live Exports From The Port of Ramsgate said: “The Joline left Ramsgate port for Calais yesterday at midnight, but they are yet to arrive. It appears as if the boat broke down. The 2-5 week old calves were stranded on board in this cold winter weather, without the correct methods to feed them as they are unweaned, and well over the legal time requirements that are a maximum of 9 hours travel.
“The vessel is heading into Calais now and is probably about an hour away from docking.”

Campaigners also say that they at least one calf on the transporter was unresponsive when it arrived in Ramsgate but no checks were carried out by authorities.

Photo Stop Live Exports from the Port of Ramsgate

Emails have now been sent to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs demanding the calves are checked when they reach Calais dock. French authorities and the RSPCA have also been contacted.

The calves are destined for veal crates in Spain.

Thanet campaigner Julie Fuller said: “Live exports should be banned and this is just another example of how horrendous the journey is for these animals.”

The Stop Live Exports From The Port of Ramsgate group is urging people to contact Defra with their concerns.

32 Comments

  1. I am not only deeply shocked at this county’s and EU laws that allow this horrendous cruelty but extremely saddened at mans inhumanity to these new born mammals, putting financial profit before the animals welfare.

    I hate to say it but it would have been better that these baby
    calves were shot, than to be sent to veal crates. Veal rates are a living hell.

    Surely humanity is better than this????

    • I agree, they would be better off if they perisheda- all this for what, just to be sent to more hell of Spanish veal.crates???? What the hell is humanity coming to? I am ashamed to be a human. The cruellest species on the planet. Feeling sick at the thought of these poor babies. Live transport MUST be stopped.

    • I totally agree with that. This is the cruelest ‘industry’ in the world and we should be ashamed to treat these babies in such a way and also bond for veal crates! What a hell of a life for them. Babies are babies, animal or h human. No difference. NO DIFFERENCE! Veal crates have (as far as I am aware have been banned in our own country have they not? So how hyprotical to send them to the horrors they will endure overseas. Despicable. I am ashamed of my country.

    • I totally agree that veal crates should be banned worldwide and most farmers it seems, do not have any conscience regarding where their livestock are being sent and for what purpose!!!

    • I do often wonder if Everybody that protests at Ramsgate is a vegan-if not the hypocrisy of opposing it while being happy for animals to be kept in often abysmally cramped conditions on farms, where as we have seen from undercover footage they are often kicked & beaten before being murdered & most meat in the shops is now Halal-which is a very unpleasant death indeed is quite amazing.

      • “Steve
        JANUARY 12, 2019 AT 4:36 PM
        I do often wonder if Everybody that protests at Ramsgate is a vegan-if not the hypocrisy…..”
        So Steve, during your deep thinking about levels of morale heirachy, do you think where YOU fit in? Are you looking for an excuse to not support change, however weak that excuse may be? Do you campaign to help reduce/remove cruelty? Do you say that unless someone can be perfect in persuance of this goal, that person cannot persue it at all? Are YOU the perfect Vegan, nit-picking at others’ imperfections and in so doing wasting time and energy of all involved that is better spent fighting for better animal welfare? Or, more likely, are you a supporter of these sick conditions for animals and a fighter against anyone else that seeks change? There may be some here that aren’t Vegan – maybe they see it as just improving conditions in the livestock industry- a live animal export ban for one (& more involvement in campaigns such as this helps people to see that going Vegan is the logical direction they themselves should take…another positive outcome), and how do you know they don’t campaign on a multitude of other extreme conditions the industry generates? Would you zip it, if you discovered everyone here IS vegan? No more time ‘wondering’- giving you more time to get up and do something better for these Animals, eh?..
        Bottom line: if you can’t do any better, quit your bicker, drop the negs and get constructive. There’s enough pain around already.

      • You don’t have to be a vegan to be concerned about animal cruelty. WTG Steve, alienating potential supporters.

  2. This is yet another huge example of a Government body responsible for animal welfare, facilitating animal cruelty on a big scale. They were aware there were problems with the ship; knew these were unweaned calves, who had already been subject to an exceeded time journey and still sanctioned their onward travel, contravening their own regulations, the next day. The ship has only just docked, so once again the calves have been travelling over time – without being fed. – Lets hope questions are asked and people held to account over the totally inhumane and cruel treatment of these animals. Shame on the farmers who “off-loaded” these calves in the first place, knowing they were sending them to continental veal crates – crates banned in this country.

  3. My heart bleeds for these poor little unweaned calves. We must all stand together to get live exports banned. Please email DEFRA and let them know your concerns. If they have survived this horrendous journey to Spain, a veal crate awaits them! Disgraceful!

  4. If you or I treated an animal this way, we would be prosecuted for cruelty. It beggars belief that this can be allowed simply to line the pockets of greedy money-scroungers. The sooner we leave the EU and make our own laws, the better, because our farmers will not be forced to export our produce and we will not have to replace such products by importing from Europe. Judging by current laws, we are aware that the EU cares little for the welfare of creatures or people.

    • I’m afraid under this government there will be no change to live exports. The farmers and exporters got to Michael Gove and he’s reneged on his idea of banning this evil trade. I hope if we ever get a Labour Gov that they will do the right thing but it has to be in their manifesto.

  5. The government could not care less about what we think, about animals or people for that matter. I’ve no doubt many voted this useless lot in. In Processed foods there are nitrates that cause bowel cancer WHY are this foods allowed to be on sale. ?

  6. The government could not care less about what we think, about animals or people for that matter. I’ve no doubt many voted this useless lot in. In Processed foods there are nitrates that cause bowel cancer WHY are these foods allowed to be on sale. ?

  7. It’s all about making the rich richer and not about protecting the animals and being humane. They slaughter animals in the UK barbarically for Jewish and Muslim religion. Sending unweaned baby animals on a cruel journey like this though being transported like they were already dead just highlights what a f….ed up country we live in with a Government that only cares for the filthy rich business friends they have. Europe is even worse than here!

  8. These poor calves have endured an horrendously long cold, frightening journey. These are calves between the ages of 2 – 5 weeks old. The hours these animals have traveled without the correct methods to feed them as they are unweaned so are going to be dehydrated and weak! This treatment of sentient babies that should be with their mother’s is abhorrent and unexceptable! These calves are the by product of the dairy industry! It’s the dairy industries dirty little secret! Someone has to be held to accountable for this cruelty. The best way not to be apart of this treatment of babies is to become Vegan!

  9. ???? where is the MP for animals? ???? in Parliament we need a minister for animals in every government’s Parliament worldwide . In every government we have a minister for education and minister for foreign affairs and minister of Defence Minister for health something is deeply flawed in our politics when we share this planet with animals and there is nobody there to be there voice in Parliament to represent atrocities like this and correct something that should never happen like live export or the cruelty of the veal industry which is horrific and should be outlawed worldwide.

    What selfish cruel bastards to send these innocent ones to such a horrific fate as the veal industry

  10. Surely the people advising everybody else not to eat meat are missing the point. Veal is a by-product of the dairy industry. If you don’t want to export veal from the UK people need to start eating it. That’s the sustainable solution.

  11. Just let them go to a farmed animal sanctuary where they can live out their lives! The environment minister and food inspection should make this happen immidiately and not allow these calves to be crated then slaughtered! This should be a requirement if their torture is prolonged like this! They shouldn’t be there in the first place and people must stop funding these animal use industries and go vegan. http://www.howdoigovegan.com/going-vegan-is-easy/ http://21daykickstart.org, http://veganuary.com,

  12. I feel so sick to my stomach. How can this still be happening. God help those poor baby animals. Their gut renching journey begins when they hit france going all the way to spain. Horrendous journey, their animals welfare is so low, they will be tortured before they get there and tortured when they arrive, thats if they make it. The government needs to be ashamed of itself for allowing this. We need action now, this must stop. Michael Gove promised higher wellfare standards for animals, I dont see any change. Everyone needs to contact him until something is changed. Animals groups need to go the full journey with these calves to make sure they are not abused. I am sickened to the stomach. It doesnt matter if you eat meat or not, this total disregard for life is appalling. No one wants to see animals tortured.

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