Sir, - The end of foot-and-mouth disease restrictions marks the resumption of live cattle shipments from Ireland to the Middle East. It is important for the public to know that terrible animal welfare problems continue in this trade.
For example, as I write, 34 pregnant heifers from France are on board a boat docked at the Lebanese port of Beirut. They have been on the boat for a total of 21 days, the past two weeks spent impounded at the port because they do not comply with Lebanese import regulations (they are older than the permissible 24-month age limit).
These animals have been forced to remain on the boat because the Lebanese Government would not permit them to be unloaded. The Lebanese importer would not allow them to be humanely destroyed. The German exporters claimed they did not know about the import restrictions. The ship owner demanded the return of his vessel and, for some time, it was feared that he would take the ship out of the port and throw the animals overboard.
The German animal welfare group, Animals' Angels, is desperately negotiating with the Lebanese Government and the importer in an effort to resolve the situation. After three weeks on this ship, the state of the animals and conditions on the ship are not known. Two animals have died whilst giving birth on board, and two have given birth and survived. The only possible resolution of the problem is humane destruction of all the animals, so they will have suffered for nothing.
It is a disgrace that cattle shipments to the Middle East are fuelled by EU taxpayers' money. In the first 10 months of last year, 110.8 million was paid in subsidies for this trade. Compassion in World Farming believes these subsidies should be removed and that live animal exports should be replaced by a trade in meat. - Yours, etc.,
Mary-Anne Bartlett, Director, Compassion in World Farming - Ireland, Hanover Street, Cork.