Brittany Ferries stops live animal exports on cross‑Channel routes

Brittany Ferries announced it will end the export of live animals on its Rosslare‑Cherbourg cross‑Channel service, a move that will affect roughly 20,000 animals per year based on 2025 figures. The decision follows a coordinated campaign by animal‑rights groups in France, Ireland, the United Kingdom and across Europe, including Welfare and L214, which argued that the transport of unweaned calves violates EU animal‑protection regulations because the calves spend more than 18 hours without feed.

The company, owned largely by Breton agricultural cooperatives and carrying over two million passengers annually between France, the UK and Ireland, said it would no longer participate in the trade. Most of the calves previously shipped were destined for the Netherlands, Spain and Poland for fattening. With Brittany Ferries withdrawing, Irish Ferries becomes the sole operator still transporting unweaned calves on the route after Stena Line ceased the service last year, prompting campaigners to call on Irish Ferries to adopt the same policy. Earlier in June, Brittany Ferries also announced the sale of two vessels and the closure of a separate cross‑Channel link to reduce costs amid a weak market.