In early 2025, Brittany Ferries – after opposing the practice for 30 years – began transporting live farmed animals from Ireland to France. This route mainly carries unweaned calves, as young as just two weeks old, bound for veal production in Europe or to be fattened for further export to the Middle East and North Africa for slaughter there. During 2025, by the end of summer, over 220,000 calves endured up to 24-hour journeys in cramped trucks on roll-on roll-off ferries, suffering greatly along the way.¹

Brittany Ferries is vastly dependent on their customer base, where a large majority of their customers are holiday makers taking ferries from mainland UK to France, especially during the summer. We believe that members of the public and customers of Brittany Ferries should be informed about the cruel business choice they have made. 

In summer 2025, independent polling agencies revealed clear public opposition in the UK and France, Brittany Ferries’ main markets, to the transport of unweaned calves by ferry companies, as a practice that largely remains out of the public eye. 

In recent years, pressure has intensified on companies involved in live animal transport, particularly the transport of unweaned animals such as calves. 

Public opinion is clear: these journeys with such vulnerable animals are unacceptable. What’s more, the logistics of these routes make it virtually impossible to comply with European law, which limits the transport of unweaned calves to a maximum of 19 hours. Once loading and unloading times are factored in, these journeys often far exceed that limit. 

Despite once taking a stand against this cruelty, Brittany Ferries has reversed its position and chosen to allow the transport of unweaned calves on its roll-on roll-off ferries, a decision that has sparked widespread controversy. With this move, the company is not only going against the expectations of its customers but also enabling a practice that is in clear violation of European law. 

In response, FOUR PAWS has launched a campaign action calling on Brittany Ferries to immediately end the transport of live farmed animals. Together with our NGO allies, and backed by over 200,000 emails from citizens, we wrote letters, staged demonstrations, and publicly appealed to the company. For six months, Brittany Ferries remained silent.

The overwhelming public opposition in Brittany Ferries main markets suggests that Brittany Ferries and other ferry companies risk reputational damage if they continue to enable the long-distance transport of live animals on their routes, especially the transport of unweaned animals. As public awareness grows, so does the pressure on companies to align with evolving ethical standards and customer expectations. 

These results make it crystal clear that the public does not want animals, especially vulnerable calves, subjected to inhumane journeys across Europe. Brittany Ferries needs to act in line with EU laws and their customers' expectations.

Thanks to persistent pressure, progress has finally been made. We secured a constructive meeting with Brittany Ferries’ CEO, Christophe Mathieu, and its Director of Operations, Frédéric Pouget. During this one-hour discussion, the company agreed to continue the dialogue. This is an important first step, but Brittany Ferries must now turn words into action and put an end to the transport of unweaned calves on its ferries.