Irish Ferries has no plans to restore its live farm animals transportation service to the Continent, the company said yesterday. The firm temporarily stopped the livestock service on its passenger ferries from Rosslare and Ringaskiddy to France at the end of June.
Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), the group campaigning for a national ban on the export of live cattle, demonstrated outside the ferry company's Cork offices yesterday to highlight what it described as very poor treatment of such animals when they arrive in France, Spain and Italy. CIWF welcomed the decision by Irish Ferries not to resume carrying livestock.
A spokeswoman for Irish Ferries said the company could not understand why the Compassion in World Farming group chose to demonstrate outside its offices. "We have not given any indication that we are going to start carrying livestock again and we do not understand why they are staging this demonstration outside our premises," she said.