Joanna is just the ticket to end live animal trade

Actress Joanna Lumley has launched a campaign to end long-distance animal transportation as animal welfare campaigners revealed an increase in the number of live animals being exported.

In 2011 there were three times more live calves and sheep being exported from Britain to the Continent than in 2010, according to Compassion in World Farming.

Lumley launched the charity’s national bus advertising campaign on a Routemaster bus in London’s Trafalgar Square yesterday as it said that an estimated total of more than 80,000 live farm animals were exported in 2011.

Using Freedom of Information data, the charity estimates the total number of sheep and calves to have been exported from Britain to the continent in 2011 to be 79,996. With some pigs and goats shipped last year, the total number of farm animals in 2011 is an estimated 80,664.

Figures from the European Union’s Eurostat website show the number of sheep and calves transported from Britain to the continent in 2010 to be much lower at 25,417.

“It’s an exciting campaign,” said Lumley. “This was so important for us because it means people will see that animals are being transported against their wishes. They can’t get off, unlike human beings who can just ring the bell and jump off the bus once they’ve reached their short destination.”

The charity hopes the campaign will highlight the resurgence in live exports, both in the UK and abroad, where journeys can sometimes last for several weeks.