One out of 10 vessels carrying livestock that departed Ireland in 2020 had a veterinary inspector present, and one out of five in 2021 had a veterinary inspector on board.
On the two occasions that a Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) vet was present, that official disembarked before the vessel docked and did not observe the animals as they were unloaded.
Information provided for 2020 – which includes an export date on December 30, 2019 – shows that of the 10 live-export destinations, six went to Libya, three were destined for Turkey, and one travelled to Algeria.
Date Port of loading Port of destination Vet accompaniment 30/12/2019 Waterford Misurata, Libya Yes 29/01/2020 Cork Misurata, Libya No 07/03/2020 Cork Misurata, Libya No 27/03/2020 Waterford Tekirdage, Turkey No 16/04/2020 Waterford Algeria No 01/05/2020 Waterford Misurata, Libya No 29/07/2020 Cork Misurata, Libya No 06/10/2020 Waterford Misurata, Libya No 12/10/2020 Waterford Iskenderum, Turkey No 30/10/2020 Cork Iskenderum, Turkey No
Only one – that recorded in December 2019 – had a vet accompany the livestock to its destination in Misurata in Libya.
Information for 2021 – which includes an export date on December 30, 2020 – shows that all five exports went to Misurata in Libya.
Date Port of loading Port of destination Vet accompaniment 23/12/2020 Waterford Misurata, Libya Yes 13/03/2021 Waterford Misurata, Libya No 13/03/2021 Cork Misurata, Libya No 22/04/2021 Cork Misurata, Libya No 28/11/2021 Greenore Misurata, Libya No
Again, one export journey – that recorded in December 2019 – had a vet accompany the livestock to its destination in Libya.
The data for both years were provided by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, in response to a recent parliamentary question from Green Party TD, Brian Leddin.
The Limerick TD requested a list of the “voyages of dedicated livestock vessels” from Ireland in the two years listed above, as well as confirmation of a vet being present for the journey, and whether they observed the unloading of the livestock at the destination.
In his response, Minister McConalogue stated that the DAFM only permits animals to be transported in compliance with the legislation.
He said department officials and inspectors monitor this compliance through a system of official controls, including:
- Advance checks of paperwork and veterinary checks of the livestock vessel;
- Advance checks of all animals before they travel;
- And retrospective checks on GPS and temperature records.
In general, animals travel well and arrive in good condition, Minister McConalogue said.
Commenting on the veterinary accompaniment of animals in 2020 and 2021, said that on both occasions, “based on the advice and updates provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) regarding travel for Irish citizens, the official disembarked before the vessel docked at the port of destination and, therefore, did not observe the unloading of livestock in the port of destination in Libya.
“The resurgence of Covid-19 in Ireland and throughout Europe during 2021 has made such accompaniment challenging,” according to Minister McConalogue.
“It is planned to resume such accompaniments once it is deemed safe from a public-health perspective.”
“My department is conscious of the need to ensure the welfare of the animals in transit and, as the regulator in this area, we are satisfied that the systems in place in respect of the intra-community movement and extra-community movement of these animals are in compliance with the relevant legislation.
“The DAFM continues to monitor and enforce compliance, to ensure the welfare of animals transported.”