Vienna, 10 October 2024 – From beatings and force-feeding to starvation and fatal diseases, millions of unweaned calves and other farm animals are enduring immense suffering during their transports in Europe and beyond. Packed into unsanitary trucks and cargo ships, they face extreme temperatures, lack of water, and no medical care. But the cruelty starts well before the transport begins. Shocking footage recently aired by RTE shows personnel of an export facility in Kerry, Ireland using brutal methods like stomach-tubing or beatings to “prepare” calves for their long journey, while carcasses are left to rot in the open. With horrors like these happening too frequently, FOUR PAWS urges for a thorough revision of the EU legislation on the protection of animals during transport and stricter sanctions for its violation.

FOUR PAWS calls for:

• Ban on live animal transports to third countries
• Ban on live animal transports by sea
• Ban on transport of unweaned animals
• No animal transports in temperatures below 5°C or above 25°C
• Restrict maximum transport duration to eight hours (four hours for poultry and rabbits)
• Slaughter of animals at the nearest suitable slaughterhouse
• Transport of meat instead of live animals

Read more about the work of FOUR PAWS against live animal transport here.
Access FOUR PAWS position paper on the EU Commission’s proposal on transport here.
Access FOUR PAWS solution concepts to end the transport of unweaned calves here.