How long could you stand travelling in a small cage in a van, without a proper break?
3 hours? 6 hours? Try 19 hours. Welcome to ‘Animal Farm’ – As EU members, the UK subsidised this cruelty
Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2025
Then you’re put back in and the journey continues day-after-day, until you arrive and are slaughtered
Every year in the EU, 1.6 billion animals are transported, mainly by road. Despite constant promises, it has been over 20 years since the EU Commission last overhauled the regulations for the transport of live animals. In the UK after Brexit, the export of live animals was banned. In the EU, the inhumane practices continue, despite the EU declaring it considers animals to be ‘sentient beings’.
For those who may think the ‘open borders’ EU is warm and cuddly, Brexit Facts4EU provides a snapshot of a farm animal’s life in the bloc which shows a very different picture.
A brief dip into a sheep’s life, unlucky enough to have been born in the EU
For decades, animal rights organisations have protested about the treatment of animals in the EU. Whilst some of these organisations can be considered to hold somewhat extreme views, our survey of all the material from the EU Commission itself, and its agencies which deal in animal welfare, makes for troubling reading.
For readers to gain some sense of an animal’s life in the EU, go to the bathroom and lay your towel on the floor. Now fold it in two. That is approximately the floor space you will have for your journey. As you are being herded into the back of a lorry, imagine the sawdust on the floor of your cage. This is what you will have to sleep on, if you can actually sleep. Then imagine it in a few hours’ time, wet with urine and faeces.
Free movement in the EU
In fact you are in the truck for 9 hours, before it finally stops. Relieved, you wait to be let out so that you can finally stretch your legs again. All that happens is that a man enters at the rear and appears to be counting you and your friends. He does at least provide some food, then before you know it an hour has gone by and the truck has started moving again. At some point you are aware of something like a border and papers being inspected, together with another count. By this point you are beyond caring which EU country you are in.
Nine hours later the truck stops again, and this time you are let out into a holding pen. The end of the line, you think. Unfortunately this turns out not to be the case. 24 hours in the holding pen and you are shepherded back into the truck. The process continues. Day after day, until you really do seem to have reached your final destination. With a heavy heart you realise that the word ‘final’ is apt. The sign over a nearby building says abattoir.
© EU Commission
The export of live animals is common across the EU
The vignette we have drawn avoids describing some of the very unsavoury aspects of the transportation of live animals in the EU. The Commission is aware that something needs to be done and has been preparing plans for years. Most recently it has kickstarted this in tandem with its ‘farm to fork’ strategy. A fundamental reform is still awaited.
This is big business now. The Commission itself says it involve more than 1.6 million animals per annum. The reason for this is the increasing specialisation of farming and food processing in different countries. It also occurs because many animals are exported in order to be fattened in another country. We looked at the 2005 law which is now more than 20 years old and specifically at the guidelines for animals such as sheep, pigs, poultry, cattle and horses.
One of the disturbing factors in the guidelines is where it describes recommendations when in fact it should say legal requirements. Although these guidelines for each type of animal make it clear that farmers should read the EU Regulation of 2005, it would surprising if all of them did. What the guidelines and other documents are strong on is the paperwork requirements, which is very typical of the EU. Provided the right forms are filled in, it seems, this is the most important thing.
Where else would you read research like this?
We rely wholly on patriotic members of the public to survive. Please donate today if you would like to continue reading us tomorrow, next week, and the weeks after.
Any credit card user
Quick One-off
From £5 - £1,000
Monthly
From £3 per month
Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first
Quick One-off
Monthly
Don't leave this to someone else. You are that 'someone else'.
Meanwhile in the UK
After leaving the EU, the United Kingdom banned the export of live animals for fattening or slaughter. Some may feel that this is the least that should be done in the EU. At the very least, it struck us on reading through the documentation that the maximum journey times and minimum conditions should be dramatically improved.
Despite this, the EU Commission continues to say:
Animal welfare in the EU - Summary
“Among the principles enshrined in EU law is that animals are sentient beings that can feel and have emotions.”
- EU Commission
Observations
This article is of necessity merely a short summary of one aspect of animal welfare in the EU where standards are, it is fair to say, generally lower than those in the UK, on average.
The transportation of live animals in these quantities is, alas, just one aspect where many countries in the EU differ so much from the UK. This short report not only highlights this, but also the very long time it takes for the EU to take action on a particular topic and where it can get all countries to agree. Having visited farms across the EU, one member of our team can certainly vouch for the fact that attitudes towards animal welfare differ markedly between countries.
Perhaps one aspect this brings into focus is that the rosy picture of the EU held by so many Rejoiners, (many of whom have never visited any EU country except on holiday), is not quite as rosy as they would like to imagine.
Finally it must be remembered that the Common Agricultural Policy still consumes a large part of the overall EU budget. For decades the UK was subsidising this to the tune of billions of pounds. Were the UK to re-enter, as the Prime Minister and his colleagues clearly want, we would once again be paying for this appalling state of affairs.
Please, please help us to carry on our vital work in defence of independence, sovereignty, democracy and freedom by donating today. Thank you.
[ Sources: EU Commission | EFTA ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.
Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Wed 26 Nov 2025
Click here to go to our news headlines
Please scroll down to COMMENT on the above article.
And don't forget actually to post your message after you have previewed it!
Since before the EU Referendum, Brexit Facts4EU.Org
has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.
Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.
We think facts matter. Please donate today, so that we can continue to ensure a clean Brexit is finally delivered.
Any credit card user
Quick One-off
From £5 - £1,000
Monthly
From £3 per month
Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first
Quick One-off
Monthly
Something to say about this? Scroll down for reader comments