On Saturday 14 June, citizens and NGOs around the world will be raising awareness of the appalling conditions faced by millions of farmed animals each year being exported live on long sea journeys, and calling for action to ban the trade.

Every year, millions of live animals – including calves, sheep and pigs – are transported by road, rail, sea or air across continents on journeys lasting days and even weeks. During this time, they often endure horrific conditions such as overcrowding and extreme temperatures causing enormous pain and distress.

Global action

On social media and through in-person events, the campaign will have a truly international reach with events including:

public gatherings in Austria, France, Germany, Ireland and the UK
campaign stalls being held in Townsville and Sydney in Australia 
a march to an Agriculture Ministry building in Lisbon, Portugal 
a cinema screening and forum in Colombia, Latin America.

Our Deputy Director of Global Campaigns Policy & Advocacy, Charlotte Reid said:

On this tenth 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 that it is totally unacceptable. We urge anyone who cares about animal welfare to show their support for urgent action by sharing campaign posts on social media and by avoiding travelling with the companies that profit from this appalling trade.

Ten years of campaigning

We launched this awareness day back in 2016 to mark the anniversary of 13,000 sheep who tragically lost their lives during a long sea journey from Romania to Somalia, as a result of dehydration, starvation, and exhaustion.

Many countries continue to transport live animals hundreds of miles across oceans. The EU is one of the biggest drivers of the trade by sea, impacting the welfare of hundreds of thousands of animals each year. Many are transported initially by land, and then onwards by sea to countries outside of the EU, even as far as Jordan, in the Middle East, a journey that can take as long as 15 days. This year alone, over 140,000 unweaned calves have been transported on 18-hour sea journeys between Ireland and France, and then onwards by road on long journeys including to Poland.

This year, we are urging supporters to stand up for animals by sharing posts about the events with the hashtag #BanLiveExports and to avoid travelling with ferry companies that transport live farmed animals for fattening or slaughter.

Global citizens unite for tenth live exports awareness day