Image: Youtube“Such brutal and cruel handling of calves is completely unacceptable and must not be tolerated”.
The ISPCA has called for the Agriculture Minister to immediately suspend the export of Irish dairy calves from Ireland to France and the Netherlands.
The call comes in the wake of footage of Irish calves being physically abused by workers at a control post in France emerged over the weekend.
29,000 calves have already been exported this year, 34 per cent more than the same period in 2018.
The abuse was uncovered by a detailed investigation by animal welfare groups Eyes on Animals and L214, which trailed 23 Irish livestock trucks and inspected the conditions the animals were exposed to between 14-17 March this year.
Amongst the disturbing findings in the investigation was that the abuse was so severe, calves were collapsing in pain, dragging their hind legs along the floor unable to get back up.
Footage of the incidents, which readers should be warned contains graphic content and may cause upset, can be viewed on the ISPCA website here.
In a statement, the ISPCA said “such brutal and cruel handling of calves is completely unacceptable and must not be tolerated”.
