Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has said he has “no plans” to introduce legislation similar to the ban of live animal exports being implemented by the UK government.
From July 22, The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act 2024 of the UK will ban the export of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats and horses for fattening and slaughter from Great Britain.
However, the ban does not prevent the export of livestock and horses for breeding or competitions, and it does not apply in Northern Ireland.
The live export ban applies to journeys from, and transit journeys through, Great Britain to destinations outside of the UK, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.
Live export ban
The ban removes Great Britain as a land bridge for movement of livestock for slaughter, meaning no livestock can be taken from Northern Ireland or Ireland through Great Britain and onwards to mainland Europe for slaughter.
Data from the European Commission’s Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES), however, show that livestock exported from Ireland for slaughter to other EU member states do not travel via Great Britain.
Ireland
The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) is responsible for regulating trade in live animals, in line with existing EU and national legislation.
Minister McConalogue said the DAFM “takes its responsibilities in the matters of regulating this trade, and of protecting animal welfare, very seriously”, and added:
“[The DAFM] operates a robust system of official controls so that Irish cattle can be traded successfully nationally, within the single market or internationally.
“I have no plans to introduce similar legislation to that being implemented by the UK.”
People Before Profit-Solidarity TD for Dublin South-West, Paul Murphy had asked the minister whether he was planning a policy for Ireland similar to that being implemented by the UK government.