Activism & Animals Dormant Updated Aug 5, 2026
The live animal transport fight
Where it stands, Aug 5, 2026 Brittany Ferries agreed to stop shipping live calves from Ireland to France by September, reversing a policy it had revived in March 2025 after an NGO coalition collected more than 100,000 signatures demanding it stop; an EU survey found 82% of citizens concerned about transporting very young, unweaned animals.
Ferry operators carrying live calves from Ireland to France face mounting pressure over hours-long confinement and onward truck journeys running up to 50 hours. Brittany Ferries banned the practice for 30 years, revived it in March 2025, and is now reversing course again under NGO pressure and public opinion running strongly against the trade. This storyline tracks whether the remaining operator, Irish Ferries, follows suit and whether the campaign extends to other EU live-export routes.
What the brief said to watch
- Raised Aug 22, 2026, no date set Irish Ferries remains the only operator still shipping live calves from Ireland to France ahead of Brittany Ferries' September cutoff; campaigners are calling on it to follow suit. [505]
The story so far
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Aug 5, 2026 Latest
Brittany Ferries agreed to stop shipping live calves from Ireland to France by September, reversing a policy it had revived in March 2025 after an NGO coalition collected more than 100,000 signatures demanding it stop; an EU survey found 82% of citizens concerned about transporting very young, unweaned animals.
This fight, in numbers
Every sourced figure the brief has published on this storyline, newest first.
- 100,000+ signatures a coalition of animal groups collected demanding the ferry operator stop the trade
- 82% of EU citizens say they're concerned about transporting very young, unweaned animals
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