Thank you for contacting me about live animal exports.
The UK has some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world which the Government continues to strengthen further. My ministerial colleagues and I recognise that long journey times for slaughter and fattening pose welfare risks including stress, exhaustion and injury. I understand that the shortest direct to slaughter export journey from Great Britain to continental Europe in 2018 was a journey time of 18 hours. Most domestic journeys to slaughter in the UK are significantly shorter. In 2020, the Government carried out a consultation on ending live animal exports, and 87% of respondents agreed that livestock and horses should not be exported for slaughter and fattening.