A “historic achievement” in animal welfare: UK government announces live export ban

10 Nov 2023 --- The UK government has announced its commitment to banning the live exports of animals. This policy shift, part of the King’s Speech, sets a new course for the country’s animal welfare and agricultural economy. 

The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill, which was shelved earlier this year, will now bring to an end the live export of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and horses for slaughter or fattening from the UK. This decision is seen as a fulfillment of a promise made by former UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Secretary George Eustice in December 2020 and is being celebrated by animal welfare groups as a historic achievement.

James West, chief public affairs manager of Compassion in World Farming, shares his assessment of the ban’s impact with Food Ingredients First: “Banning live exports will reduce the stress and suffering experienced by animals during long-distance transport.”

“Since the current number of animals exported is already very low, banning live exports will have an impact by ensuring that no new routes are created for live animal export from and through the UK.”

Concerns from livestock industry 
While animal welfare groups welcome the proposed ban on live exports, there are concerns coming from the animal agriculture industry.

Before Brexit, approximately 6,400 animals were annually transported to Europe for slaughter, as reported by Defra. While the EU faced criticism over its failure on animal welfare issues, the UK is no longer restrained by the region’s legislation following its departure from the EU. 

“As Brexit took place, it was possible for a bill to ban live animal exports to be confirmed,” West says.

The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) has raised concerns about the economic implications of this ban. FUW president Ian Rickman expresses worries about an oversupply in the UK market leading to reduced demand and lower prices for farmers.

The UK held the position of the third-largest global exporter of sheep meat. Over the last six months, sheep meat exports from the UK demonstrated strong performance within the EU. Ian Rickman highlights that Defra’s estimate of a £6.6 million (around US$8 million) annual industry cost in the UK’s agriculture sector didn’t fully consider the loss of markets or the disproportionate impact on small and micro enterprises.

The announcement of the live export ban comes alongside the government’s priority to introduce the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Bill, raising concerns about maintaining high standards in UK agriculture. 

Rickman notes that while the government promised not to compromise on environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards, the increase in trade barriers for UK producers and liberalized free trade agreements with other countries might contradict this commitment.

Optimism ahead
West highlights alternative solutions to address the economic concerns of farmers, suggesting that the export industry is not very large. 

“The impact of a ban on the sheep industry would be minimal: in 2019, live exports from Britain only involved around one sheep out of nearly 500,” he explains.

“The export industry for calves is also small. Apart from 37 animals exported for breeding in 2019, no calves have been exported from England and Wales since January 2015. Approximately 4-5,000 calves have been exported to Spain each year from Scotland for the past few years, though this has recently been stopped since the journeys were not being carried out in compliance with legislation.”

“In addition, changes in the dairy and beef industries are rapidly making the export trade in calves redundant. It is not credible that this trade significantly adds to competition and therefore the prices obtained for animals,” he adds.

Looking ahead, West expresses optimism about the future of animal welfare in the UK. He praises the government for including this legislation in the King’s Speech and stresses the importance of quickly introducing the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Bill to Parliament to ensure its implementation well before the next general election.

“Compassion and our supporters have relentlessly spear-headed this campaign for over 50 years. Over the past year, we have applauded other countries such as New Zealand and Australia as they have pledged to ban or phase out the trade, so we are delighted the UK is finally back on track to ban this horrific practice once and for all.”

“This announcement is not only long overdue but a welcome promise that never again should animals be allowed to be subjected to this cruel trade,” West concludes.

By Sichong Wang