Irish Examiner View: How sustainable are live cattle exports?

Cattle on a farm in East Cork. Picture: Denis Minihane.

The relevance of the loss of a ship carrying almost 6,000 cattle and probably a crew of 40 off the Japanese coast on Wednesday, or the relevance of the loss of the Queen Hind, and the 14,000 sheep it was carrying in the Black Sea last December may not be immediately pressing for our farm sector. 

Despite that, these events will bring a renewed focus on the export of live animals and how they are treated on these journeys.