Campaigners urge Brittany Ferries to end live animal exports by staging peaceful protest at headquarters

Compassion in World Farming campaigners congregated at Brittany Ferries headquarters, near the port, yesterday (Saturday, June 14) to urge the company to halt its live export trade.

This comes after the company decided to resume the live export of farmed animals from Ireland to France after a 30-year hiatus earlier this year.

The peaceful protest gathered nearby an advertising billboard which read ‘Brittany Ferries: Stop the Cruelty’, to raise awareness that the company transports live animals for fattening and slaughter, not far from British shores.

Compassion in World Farming, which was founded in 1967 by a British diary farmer, campaigns to end ‘factory farming and create sustainable food systems’.

In May 2024, the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act was passed banning the export of live animals including cattle, sheep, and pigs for slaughter and fattening from Great Britain.

Anthony Field, head of Compassion in World Farming UK, said: “This Ban Live Exports International Awareness Day we are raising awareness of the scale and impact of these cruel journeys by sea and sending a clear message to the companies that profit from this misery - it is totally unacceptable.

“As the holiday season approaches, we want to make Brittany Ferries’ customers aware of the suffering that animals onboard its ships are subjected to and urge them to avoid travelling with the companies that profit from this appalling trade.”

Brittany Ferries declined to provide a comment.