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An online petition has been launched calling for a ban on live animal export for slaughter from the Isle of Man.
The move follows weeks of behind the scenes campaigning by concerned members of the public, who have called the practice 'inhumane and wholly unnecessary'.
One of them, Alison Corlett, says doing so is wholly unacceptable when there is a modern and efficient abattoir on the Island.
She says if the Isle of Man is unable to rear farm animals and kill them in the most humane manner it shouldn't be doing it at all.
Campaigners say taking the meat off-Island is profit-motivated and risks damaging the Isle of Man’s agricultural industry for other farmers.
They add that by sending animals off-Island for slaughter, and thus bypassing Isle of Man Meat, farmers reduce on-Island economies of scale and risk putting additional costs onto others in the industry.
Manx farmers have begun upping their live exports because of what they see as uncompetitive prices for their stock at the Island's abbatoir.
Those prices have also moved some to seek planning permission to build another, independent meat processing plant, to increase competition.
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