"Those who openly flout the law should be banned from hauling livestock"
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R 4 SPCA official Mark Ranson is right
when he says that some hauliers blatantly flout the law on animal transport. (Sound Off CM 25-31 May). The RHA does not deny that the haulage industry has its black sheep, But it is unfair to condemn or to constrain a whole industry sector because of the sins and omissions of a minority. There must be other solutions. When such universal condemnation proposes bans which have little chance of acceptance by the European Union, it penalises UK firms unfairly with regard to European competition. It also calls into question the strategy of the ban supporters, given the overriding need to eradicate the cowboys in the animal export chain. Animal protection groups claim public support in the widest sense. But who is that public? Vegans? Animal rights activists? The proportion of vegans to meat eaters is minuscule in this country. Vegans and others are organising marches to livestock hauliers' premises and other high profile actions, yet the total number that protest in public against livestock transport would look embarrassingly small when set against a Fourth Division football match crowd. Bizarre methods of protest, similar to those employed by road protesters, can attract media attention out of all proportion to the numerical strength of protesters and the strength of their arguments. The RHA respects the views of those, including RSPCA members, who have genuine concerns about animal welfare and will continue to lobby strongly for strict controls and adequate enforcement of a perfectly legal trade. Those who openly flout the law should be banned From hauling livestock. However, the Association has little sympathy for those who are using this issue to further their long-term aims destroying whole sections of our culture, our infrastructure, our industry and our quality of life. Such people have a hidden agenda more political than environmental, which should be exposed for what it's worth. As with many other transport issues which are engaging the minds of politicians, industrialists and academics, animal transport needs to be looked at dispassionately, with due regard to costs and benefits of alternatives and in the context of European and world trade. The UK imports meat from countries with no animal welfare policies at all. Britain's standards lead the field. To reach an acceptable balance, protagonists on both sides have to accept that any solution to the present stand-off must involve compromise. There is no room for those who break animal welfare rules, but equally there is no room for those who attempt to achieve change by mob rule. It is time to torpedo the hypocrisy of the extremists. Animal welfare is sensible. Animal rights is a questionable theory. We would join with the RSPCA in saying that all animals must be moved humanely. There is plenty of research to show that this can be done without resorting to extreme measures or overblown bureaucracy. We would hope that the RSPCA would join us in campaigning for a higher level of enforcement in the animal husbandry, marketing and transport chain and for telling sanctions against those who break the law.,