Week of Action to Ban Live Exports

Published 26/02/2020

This week (24th - 28th February), we have launched a week-long ad campaign in central London calling on the Prime Minister to #BanLiveExports. From outer London to Downing Street, tube stations to newspapers, our campaign is reaching all corners of the capital – helping us to draw attention to the horrors of live exports and lobby the Government to ban this barbaric practice.

Seizing the opportunity

“The Prime Minister has repeatedly promised to abolish the live shipment of animals once we leave the EU. This week, we are seizing the opportunity to help turn Boris Johnson’s words into actions and end this cruel trade,” says Natasha Smith, our Campaigns Manager. “We would also like to express huge thanks to all those who supported this campaign, helping it reach its fundraising target in just five hours! All this would not have been possible without your generosity.”

Exposing exports

In addition to the placement of bold digital adverts at central London tube stations - Westminster, Oxford Circus, Victoria, Vauxhall, Green Park and St James’ Park - we have an eye-catching print advert running in tomorrow’s Evening Standard. An ad will also go out in this week’s edition of The Spectator - a newspaper previously edited by the Prime Minister himself - which is distributed to all MPs.

On Friday, a digital ‘advan’ carrying our message will tour London, starting at Johnson’s constituency of Uxbridge and travelling to Westminster, where we will hand-in our open letter urging the Prime Minister to keep to his word and end this cruel trade.

Peter Egan and Mike Beckingham will be joining us at Number 10 Downing Street, to hand-deliver the open letter which they both signed. Many of our other High Profile Supporters and Patrons, including Dragons’ Den Investor Deborah Meaden, actor Joanna Lumley and TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, have also added their name to the letter.

Taking the Scottish Government to court over calves

In tandem with this week’s campaign actions, yesterday we launched judicial review proceedings against the Scottish Government for transporting unweaned calves for longer than eight hours without providing milk replacement and, in most cases, water.

Each year thousands of unweaned calves are exported from Scotland to Spain on long, gruelling journeys during which we believe this law is being ignored.

“For too long, the Scottish Government has been permitting these long journeys, even though they know the calves are not fed after nine hours as EU law mandates,” says Peter Stevenson, our Chief Policy Advisor.

We are asking the Scottish Court of Session to rule that it is unlawful for the Scottish Government to permit the export of unweaned calves on journeys over eight hours. If successful, this case would make it impossible for long-distance transport to continue in its current form.