Ramsgate's Barbaric Live Animal Exports Trade

The export of sheep, often for cruel and medieval ritualistic,   slaughter in Europe has been taking place from the Port Ramsgate since May 2011. In that time several hundred thousand animals have passed through the port. They spend many hours travelling in cramped trailers with limited access to food and water to reach Ramsgate from various points in the UK. On arriving at Ramsgate they face a 4 hour journey across the English Channel in the ramshackle ex-Soviet Union  Red Army tank transporter the Joline. Once in Europe the terrible journey continues thorough  France, Italy , Spain and sometimes outside the EU. The long distance transportation of live farm animals in appalling conditions is a massive intolerable abuse of animal welfare which must be  ended. Ramsgate is the only port in the UK from where this barbaric trade operates.

Sadly there is nothing we can do, apart from protest, to stop this happening. EU free trade directives mean that authorities in the UK are powerless to stop it. Thanet District Council did place a temporary ban on the trade following the death of 47 sheep at Ramsgate in 2013. The exporters took Thanet Council to the High Court, who ordered the immediate resumption of the trade. Thanet  Council has paid out £292,000 in legal fees related to this incident and I have been informed by reliable sources that at least £2million in compensation will/ has been paid to the exporters for the unlawful disruption to their trade. These are the very same exporters who in 2014 were found guilty of animal welfare offences at Dover Magistrates Court. They were fined and forced to pay cost of £20,000 and the owner of one of the exporting companies, Channel Livestock, was given a 6 month suspended gaol sentence. So there you have it -you can be convicted of serious breaches of animal welfare law and at the same time be compensated to the tune of £2million because somebody tried to restrain your trade  precisely because you are cruel animal abusing criminal fucker  This is unbelievably perverse.

Now some people will say what is all the fuss about. The welfare of these  animals is  protected by EU legislation and UK regulations. Yes that’s technically true . The grand sounding Welfare of Animals in Transportation Regulations  is the key document which exporters must adhere to. But do they? Do they fuck. The enforcement of these regulations by the Government’s specialist team – Animal Health – is virtually non-existent. What checking does go on is  crude and rudimentary. The inspectors are not qualified  in animal health issues and work from tick sheets and in my opinion they are more focused on the interests of the exporters than the conditions the animals travel in. Most of us involved in this protest regard Animal Health and its inspectors as a fucking joke.

So the solution to this  industrial scale cruelty lies in Europe and all of those  compassionate men and women involved in this worthy movement must now look to brining influence to bear on Euro MPs, Commissioners and Ministers to change to the rules to allow member states to opt out of trade arrangements  they regard to be unethical or cruel. Maybe David Cameron,  who is in the process re-negotiating our EU membership terms, might raise it. I doubt it very much. Our only chance of success is for many more people join us at the demonstrations, and through peaceful direct action block the lorries from entering the port and is so doing turn Ramsgate’s dirty little secret into a national issue which politicians will have no choice by to act on.