Sir, - The resumption of live cattle shipments to Libya should not be seen as a cause of celebration; it should make us all feel ashamed that our Government continues to promote this archaic and inhumane trade.
Apart from the stress of the journey itself, once Irish cattle have been off-loaded at a port in a country outside the EU, we have no control whatever over how they are treated. Undercover investigations by CIWF have found that welfare standards outside the EU can be very poor indeed.
Let it be remembered that in 1997 the EU member-states, including Ireland, agreed on a legally binding protocol which states that animals are "sentient beings" which can suffer and feel pain and can also enjoy a sense of well-being. We wonder how seriously the Irish Government is taking this protocol when it continues to promote live animal exports, a trade fraught with suffering - especially as there is a humane alternative: to export meat instead of live animals.
We question the Agriculture Minister's commitment to ensuring high welfare standards for Irish farm animals. While the official responsible for farm animal welfare at EU level, Commissioner Byrne, has recently met with CIWF, our own Agriculture Minister refuses to meet us to discuss farm animal welfare problems at a national level - even though we are the only organisation in Ireland dealing solely with farm animal welfare. Maybe one of the reasons for his refusal is that he knows that he cannot justify the continuing cruelty of the live animal export trade. - Yours, etc.,
Mary-Anne Bartlett, Director, Compassion in World Farming, Ireland, Hanover Street, Cork.