Today, 14 June, marks the tenth annual Ban Live Exports International Awareness Day, and this year, citizens and NGOs across the globe are raising awareness of the terrible conditions faced by millions of farmed animals each year on long sea journeys.

On behalf of over 100 global NGOs, our French office has today submitted a complaint to the EU Parliament calling for urgent action to stop the unacceptable 18-hour sea journeys endured by unweaned calves from Ireland to France – which the European Commission has recognised is in breach of current transport regulations.

Thousands of unweaned claves suffer during transport

This year alone, over 140,000 unweaned calves, under six weeks old, have been exported from Rosslare, Ireland to Cherbourg in France. By EU law, these young and vulnerable animals, having been separated from their mothers, must be fed milk replacer but this is not possible on this long sea crossing. 

A recent EU Commission report (2025) acknowledges that this is a welfare failure stating “calves are not fed at the required intervals”. This follows the Commission’s 2023 audit which in its view: “…the transport of unweaned calves from Ireland to France is being carried out in breach of Council Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport.”

Yet this trade continues with tens of thousands of unweaned calves being exported from Ireland to the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Italy and Croatia between 1 January and 12 May 2025 on journeys which can take up to 50 hours.

European rules fail to protect animals

Currently, the over-20-year-old EU transport rules fail to reflect the latest scientific evidence on animal welfare. The European Food Safety Authority is calling for welfare improvements during transport, including providing more space, lowering maximum temperatures and keeping journey times to a minimum.

New proposals to update the EU Transport Regulation are currently being reviewed by the European Parliament and Council but, regrettably, in their current state they would do little to offer stronger protection. There are even suggestions to exclude sea journeys from overall journey times – a shocking move that would cause untold additional suffering.

Ferry companies are putting profit before welfare

In March this year, ferry company Brittany Ferries resumed the export of live animals from Ireland to France, 30 years after it announced it would stop doing so. This shocking decision prompted a significant backlash with tens of thousands of concerned citizens sending complaints to the company and over 120 scientists, MEPs, celebrities and experts - including actors Dame Joanna Lumley and Pauline McLynn – signing an open letter, urging the company to reconsider. Britanny Ferries joins StenaLine and Irish Ferries in participating in this dreadful trade.

This Ban Live Exports International Awareness Day, we call on people in Europe to contact private ferry companies Brittany Ferries, Irish Ferries and Stena Line to urge them to stop facilitating this trade, and to share their outrage on social media with the hashtag #BanLiveExports.

Around 44 million farmed cattle, sheep and pigs each year within and from the EU, with journeys lasting up to three weeks as far as Brazil, Vietnam and Nigeria. These animals, which are transported for further fattening or slaughter, can face extreme conditions such as overcrowding, exhaustion, dehydration, pain, and stress. In addition, disasters can strike onboard; fires, ship sinkings, disease outbreaks, and trade route blockages, resulting in dire consequences causing thousands of casualties.

Vinciane Patelou, Head of EU at Compassion in World Farming, said:

When travelling by sea, often still onboard a lorry, animals face untold suffering, from hunger and thirst, to fear, distress and exhaustion. And there are precious few laws to protect them.

On this tenth anniversary of Ban Live Exports International Awareness Day we are raising awareness of the scale and impact of these journeys by sea and making it clear to the transport companies who profit from this misery that it is totally unacceptable. The EU has an opportunity to put an end to this cruelty – and while countries such as Great Britain and Australia have taken steps towards a ban, the EU has turned a blind eye and continues to prosper from it.

European lawmakers currently working on the Commission’s proposal must update the rules on live animal transport to ban this barbaric trade, and in the meantime, ensure current regulations are properly enforced so that these vulnerable young calves no longer go hungry for many hours on these horrific journeys.

Ban Live Exports International Awareness Day was first launched in 2016, to mark the anniversary of 13,000 sheep tragically lost their lives during a long sea journey from Romania to Somalia.

This year, we and other NGOs are recognising the longest journey of 15 days undertaken by animals exported from the EU to Jordan, with ’15 days of action’ starting on 14 June.

For further information about Ban Live Exports International Awareness Day, visit this page.

Calls for EU to stop animals suffering on long sea journeys