Brittany Ferries at the start of September ceased trading in the transportation of live farm animals, including unweaned calves exported from Rosslare Europort to Cherbourg.
As the Maritime Logistics Professional reports, the move on Tuesday by the Breton-based operator marks another milestone in a campaign by Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) to end its long-distance live transport from Ireland to France and ensure animal welfare legislation is effectively enforced.
The campaign’s protestors have been led by a partnership of animal-welfare protection groups domestically and overseas. They include Ethical Farming Ireland, Compassion in World Farming, Eurogroup for Animals, Eyes on Animals, Four Paws, L214, Southampton Animal Action, and Welfarm.
The decision by the French ferry firm follows growing public and customer concern over the welfare of unweaned calves transported from Ireland on lengthy sea journeys to France, ahead of their onward road journey to destinations across mainland Europe.
Afloat highlights the 298 nautical mile route from Wexford to Normandy (passage time of around 17 hours) was also served by Stena Line until its closure last September. The former long-running Scandinavian cruise ferry Stena Vision ran their only France route but now operates in the Mediterranean, serving French and Italian islands through operator Corsica-Sardinia Ferries, as reported.
This year alone, livestock trade from Ireland involved over 160,000 calves under six weeks old, which have been transported on long journeys from Ireland to EU member states of Italy, Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands.
This week’s move means that two ferry operators directly connecting mainland Europe have now stepped away from facilitating the trade within the space of a year, with Stena Line’s withdrawal as alluded to and Brittany Ferries confirming farmed animal transport would cease from 1 September 2026.
The spotlight now turns firmly on Irish Ferries, as they remain the sole ferry operator transporting unweaned calves from Ireland to France, says Ethical Farming Ireland.
For more on the livestock trade development, click here.
Afloat highlights: the Irish Ferries service is not from Rosslare, but such trade is based through Dublin Port and continues to connect Cherbourg, on the Cotentin peninsula.
The peninsula namesake of the freight-orientated vessel/ropax, Cotentin, is too to be withdrawn this month and put up for sale, but the Ireland-France route remains running with its replacement of returning ropax, Commodore Clipper, following the closure of Portsmouth-Le Havre in the early autumn.
The route is currently maintained by modern E-Flexer class tonnage that rotates on the Rosslare-Bilbao service on the long-distance route to Spain.
The planned disposal of the Cotentin forms part of a major cost-cutting exercise by Brittany Ferries that also affects primarily its English Channel routes and Guernsey links, along with Barfluer, which too is to be withdrawn and sold, as its Poole-Cherbourg link is to be discontinued, severing the short-sea route with Dorset, as Afloat reported.
