Tuesday 12 December, 2006

Continuous bad weather conditions are inevitable now winter is here: delays, cancellations and route changes are predicted to be more frequent.

Sadly these vulnerable calves have to endure long stressful journeys which are unnecessary and cruel. Protecting all calves during transport is part of a wider campaign to secure an end to the long distance transportation of live animals in the EU and internationally.

CIWF believes that any port that handles live animals should have a place where they can be unloaded and given food and water if delays occur.

What you can do

Contact your local MP to raise your concerns about this horrific trade, visit our website for further reading: www.ciwf.co.uk or send an e-card to DEFRA (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs), the direct link is: http://www.ciwf.org.uk/campaigns/primary_campaigns/long_distance_ecard.htm

Shipments expected this week

Further shipments are expected on Tuesday 12, Wednesday 13 and Friday 15 December.

Dover Demos

Kent against Live Exports (KALE) holds monthly demos on the first Saturday of each calendar month, the next being this Saturday 6th January. CIWF will be present and looks forward to seeing you down there. These demos are held between 12pm-3pm at Eastern Docks Roundabout, Dover, Kent.

Please contact KALE's information news line on 01304 204688 for more information.

Tuesday 5 December

News

Three bulls die: SVS (State Veterinary Service) launches new investigation

An investigation has been launched after three bulls died during a Channel crossing on November 23, 2006.

Trading standards is currently looking into the incident where a vehicle from the farmer-backed live export co-operative, Anglo European Farmers (AEFC) overturned on a livestock vessel travelling from Dover to Dunkerque on Thursday 23 November.

A vet was called and three cattle were confirmed dead. The State Veterinary Service (SVS) said the incident occurred during heavy sea conditions with winds of force 6-8.

Shortly after news arrived at CIWF Head Office, we contacted our French partners, PMAF, to ask them to contact the harbour master at Dunkerque West, to find out further information or if anyone could verify what happened on the ship. PMAF reported the following:

• The truck could have been overloaded

• 3 cows died; 2 or 3 animals were injured; one was left severely injured and was inspected by a vet

• SVS asked the French authorities for a full report into the incident

• It was alleged that the Marine Coastguard surveyed the vessel and did not find any problems

CIWF wrote to Ben Bradshaw several times with regards to the previous Dover delays on 11 October, highlighting key issues arising from these incidents. CIWF has written once again to Ben Bradshaw re-iterating how the inevitable bad winter weather can cause heavy seas and further serious delays to departures from Dover due to the late arrival of ships. We have stressed that it is essential that there should be near-by holding facilities to which animals can be taken so that they can be unloaded and given feed, water and rest.

Dover Demos

Kent Against Live Exports (KALE) holds monthly demos on the first Saturday of each calendar month. December’s demo was held on Saturday 2, and many KALE members attended along with CIWF’s CEO, Philip Lymbery and Head of Campaigns, Gill Sanders. CIWF staff will be present at the next demo on Saturday 6 January, 2007, so hope to see you down there. These demos are held between 12pm-3pm at Eastern Docks Roundabout. Please contact KALE's information news line on 01304 204688 for more information.

CIWF Campaign Officer, Angelique Davies, says: "These monthly KALE demonstrations in Dover are a positive way of showing unity against the shameful resumption of live exports from the UK. These regular demos reveal how important this issue is to the British public and we will continue to campaign until this unnecessary and horrific trade stops.”

Shipments last week

Friday 1 December, the sea was rough to moderate, wind was about force 7. About 18 people were present to witness the shipment and Kent police also turned out for this shipment.

Shipments expected this week

Tuesday 5, Wednesday 6 and Friday 8 December, this week.

Wednesday 29 November, 2006

News

After a horrific incident on Wednesday 22 November when a transporter on board a ship overturned en route from Dover to Dunkerque, it is believed that SVS is now investigating this accident.

Bad weather conditions are inevitable now winter is here: delays, cancellations and route changes are predicted to be more frequent.

Sadly these vulnerable calves have to endure long stressful journeys which are unnecessary and cruel. Protecting all calves during transport is part of a wider campaign to secure an end to the long distance transportation of live animals in the EU and internationally.

CIWF believes that any port that handles live animals should have a place where they can be unloaded and given food and water (lairage) if delays occur.

When CIWF wrote to Ben Bradshaw alerting him to this incident of delayed shipments in Dover on 11 October, we asked that this situation must never be allowed to happen again. Ben Bradshaw did promise a full investigation into this.

There are many ways to help and support our Stop Live Export campaign:
http://www.ciwf.org.uk/campaigns/primary_campaigns/Calves_Letters.htm

Dover Demos

Kent Against Live Exports (KALE) hold monthly demos on the first Saturday of each calendar month, the next being this coming Saturday 2nd December. CIWF will be present and look forward to seeing you down there. These demos are held between 12pm-3pm at Eastern Docks Roundabout.

Please contact KALE's information news line on 01304 204688 for more information.

Shipments expected this week

Monday 27 November - 4.15am a shipment departed from Dover with 23 transporters on board. This ship was originally destined for Boulogne but it was believed to have been redirected to Dunkerque due to delays.

Further shipments are expected on Tuesday 28, Wednesday 29 November and Friday 1 December.

Thursday 9 November

Lorry full of cattle overturned in Lincolnshire

A total of 12 cows died last week when the lorry transporting them overturned in Lincolnshire. Nine of the animals were killed in the incident on Thursday 9 November and three others had to be humanely destroyed. The driver and his passenger escaped with minor injuries.

A vet was called to the scene of the accident at about 10.30pm to attend to the injured animals. Some of the cows, which were about a year old, were trapped under the lorry and emergency services spent four hours freeing them from the wreckage. The remaining cattle were transferred onto another truck to continue their journey to a farming business some 20 miles away.

The lorry overturned on the A158 between Langton by Wragby and Hatton and the road was closed until 5am the following morning, while the dead cattle were removed and the lorry recovered.

CIWF contacted DEFRA, SVS, Lincolnshire police and Lincolnshire local council. We’ll keep the blog updated.

Dover Demos

Kent Against Live Exports (KALE) hold monthly demos on the first Saturday of each calendar month, the next being on 2nd December. CIWF will be present and look forward to seeing you down there. These demos are held between 12pm-3pm at Eastern Docks Roundabout. Please contact KALE's information news line on 01304 204688 for more information.

CIWF Campaign Officer, Angelique Davies, says: "Demonstrations in Dover are a positive way of showing unity against the despicable resumption of live calf exports from the UK. It is an opportunity to show that ten years may have passed but the protestors have not gone away.”

Shipments

Increasingly bad weather conditions are causing shipment delays and cancellations.

Shipments expected this week

Tuesday 14 November, Wednesday and Friday. High winds are expected this week.

Entry by Angelique Davies, CIWF Campaigns Officer responsible for the campaign against calf exports:

Dover shipments this week:

Tuesday 31st October, a shipment was due to sail but was cancelled due to bad weather conditions, we have no news yet of where the animals were sent overnight, we’ll keep the blog updated. CIWF believes that any port handling live animals should have a place where they can be unloaded and given food and water (lairage). Eventually the following day Wednesday 1st November, the shipment sailed at lunchtime, from Dover.

The second shipment this week was on Wednesday 1st November. Hauliers arrived at 9.30pm and again at 2.30am to load both calves and sheep onto the fast navigator destined for continental veal farms. In total, nineteen trucks containing live animals were shipped.

Calves stranded in Dover:

When news reached CIWF about the calves stranded in Dover on 11 October, KALE informed us that these animals were not unloaded or taken to any lairage facility. The need for such a resource in Dover is crucial to ensure animal welfare. With the increase of live exports, more frequent and regular shipments are taking place and the probability of delays and cancellations are more likely then ever before, especially now the winter months are coming. Therefore, we need to urge DEFRA to ensure that there are facilities available for these animals in the event of any further delays or cancellations to shipments.

CIWF wrote to DEFRA to press the trade to establish a staging point or other suitable premises in the vicinity of Dover.

Shipments last week:

Friday 3rd November.

Shipments this week:

Tuesday and Friday, Wednesday (not confirmed.)

For further information please call KALE's news line on 01304 204688.

Calf export figures

Recent Parliamentary figures show that from 11 October, the number of young calves exported for production this year from the UK to mainland Europe is 43,358.

Dover shipment delays

Sad news reached CIWF on Tuesday 10 October: six truckloads of calves were due to sail from Dover for mainland Europe. But the boat was seriously delayed and some calves spent 15 hours on the docks stuck inside the lorries. One calf had to be humanely destroyed because it was suffering from extreme stress.

CIWF believes that any port handling live animals should have a place where they can be unloaded and given food and water (lairage). These calves were packed in the trucks, without food, just water – if they were able to get to the drinkers on the truck.

CIWF wrote to Ben Bradshaw alerting him to this incident in Dover and to ask that this situation is never allowed to happen again, Ben Bradshaw has promised a full investigation into this. We have also written to DEFRA complaining about the incident, to ensure that there should be lairage facilities in Dover, also to ascertain that if this happens again there will be somewhere for the animals to be unloaded, rested, given fluid and feed.

Dover shipments this week:

Tuesday 24 October, six transporters of calves sailed from Dover to Dunkerque at 4.15am. Shipment due out at midnight on Wednesday 25 October.

For further information please call KALE's news line on 01304 204688.

Nightmare journey for British calves

DOVER SHIPMENTS

Shipments last week

Six truckloads of British calves exported for veal production spent 15 hours stranded at the docks. The calves arrived at Dover docks Tuesday 10 October and sailed for continental Europe in the early hours of the following morning, Wednesday 11 October. However, the boat only turned up at midday on Wednesday and finally sailed at 3.30pm, by which time some calves had already spent 15 hours on the docks. One calf had to be destroyed.

Throughout their long wait, the calves remained packed on the trucks, without food, only able to drink water if they could reach the drinkers on the truck.

Although the trucks were destined for Holland, France, Spain and Belgium, the drivers were instructed to head for a staging post at Veurne in Belgium and give the calves 24 hours rest, food and water.

There are many ways to help British calves and support our Stop Live Export campaign:

Shipments expected this week

There are no confirmed shipments due this week, CIWF will keep the blog updated. For further information please call KALE's news line on 01304 204688.