Lumley Backs Animal Transport Ban

British actress Joanna Lumley is throwing her support behind a campaign to end long distance animal transportation.

The Absolutely Fabulous star is backing the Compassion in World Farminginitiative, which aims to end "the horrors of the live export trade".

Bosses at the charity estimate more than 80,000 live farm animals were exported from Britain last year (11), and Lumley launched the charity's new advertising campaign by boarding a bus at London's Trafalgar Square onThursday (05Jan12).

Lumley says, "The numbers involved in live exports is shocking. While we (Britain) are part of the E.U. (European Union), we are a country in our own right and we need to act on this now. "2012 is the year to make a change.

We need to raise the price at the ports, so that it is more profitable for farmers to have their animals slaughtered close to their own farms.

"They (animals) can't get off, unlike human beings who can just ring the bell and jump off the bus once they've reached their short destination".