Animal export ban threat
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• The livelihoods of hundreds of hauliers could be dealt a further blow if a Labour MP's attempt to end all exports of live animals for slaughter becomes law, Dover MP Gwyn Prosser. who previously backed hauliers' campaigns against high fuel duty, introduced a private member's bill looking for a complete ban on the "cruel trade" to Parliament on 9 February.
He outlined his fears that new welfare standards imposed on the livestock industry, with maximum journey and rest times, had not gone far enough.
A National Farmers Union spokeswoman is confident the Dover MP's bill will not "see the light of day" after its introduction. But she adds that MPs are likely to raise the matter again in future private members' bills.
UK livestock hackers have had a turbulent few years, with animal rights groups attacking drivers and depots, and ferry companies refusing to accept livestock trucks.