www.bifa.org


Robert Keen’s Column


BIFAlink


BIFAlink is the official magazine of the British International Freight Association Redfern House, Browells Lane, Feltham TW13 7EP Tel: 020 8844 2266 Web site: www.bifa.org E-mail: bifa@bifa.org (A company limited by guarantee. Registered in England: 391973. VAT Registration: 216476363)


Director General Robert Keen r.keen@bifa.org Executive Director Robert Windsor r.windsor@bifa.org Executive Director Spencer Stevenson s.stevenson@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor Mike Jones m.jones@bifa.org Policy & Compliance Advisor Pawel Jarza p.jarza@bifa.org Training Development Manager Carl Hobbis c.hobbis@bifa.org Editorial Co-ordinator Sharon Hammond s.hammond@bifa.org


Published by Park Lane Publishing peter@parklanepublishingltd.com Contributors Robert Keen, Robert Windsor, Mike Jones, Spencer Stevenson, Carl Hobbis, Sharon Hammond, Pawel Jarza


Regional Consultants to BIFA Scotland and the Borders Len Hobbs: bifa.scot@gmail.com Northern Ireland Carson McMullan: carsonconluce@aol.com Midlands and the North Paul Young: youngyes@aol.com London West and the South West Mike Jones: m.jones@bifa.org


Anglia, London East and the South East Paul Newman: paul@pnauk.com


Please be advised that BIFA DOES NOT OFFER LEGAL ADVICE. BIFA is not a law firm and the authors of this publication are not legally qualified and do not have any legal training. The guidance and assistance set out herein are based on BIFA’s own experience with the issues concerned and should not be in any circumstances regarded or relied upon as legal advice. It is strongly recommended that anyone considering further action based on the information contained in this publication should seek the advice of a qualified professional.


September 2019


The potential consequences of handling animal hunting trophies


Readers may remember the firm Huntingdon Life Sciences and its associated suppliers being targeted by animal rights extremists towards the end of the last century. This followed undercover filming of abuse of animals at laboratories. A forwarder that I worked for at the time was targeted as we had carried a handover shipment on our consolidation service, and as a result the office was picketed periodically by protesters harassing staff arriving or leaving.


The reason for mentioning this is to warn BIFA Members of the consequences of


handling business that, whilst entirely legal, is repugnant to some people who do not hesitate to take direct action. The topic that has brought this into focus recently is the shipping of animal hunting trophies. This is a delicate subject as many in the UK find


the issue completely unacceptable, yet in parts of Africa some ‘big game’ hunting is government-controlled and legal. An anomaly is ivory, which has been a prohibited item for many years under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), although currently elephant tusks mounted on a trophy can be shipped. We understand that there are plans to tighten this in the UK.


BIFA has been approached a couple of times in the past few years by very aggressive parties. In the most


recent instance, it was following the ‘Cecil the Lion’ killing, and before that it was when an employee of a BIFA Member had been implicated in the Iraq fake bomb detector fraud. We are your representative body and it is not our place to tell you what you can or cannot do. That an activity is legal has no influence or effect on zealots, so the consequences of engaging in the shipping of animal hunting trophies should be considered. Activist groups can be quite intense and threaten individual employees.


‘Lies, damned lies and statistics’ is a phrase describing the persuasive power of numbers, particularly the use


of statistics to bolster weak arguments. The phrase has come to my mind many times during the past couple of years with the number of spurious news items that denigrate the forwarding industry. Recent examples are “half of logistics firms have not started Brexit preparations”, or “nearly half of logistics firms questioned have no plans to counter the threat of...”


There are two strands to this: firms who use unauthentic surveys to support their theses, or with Brexit it is


media outlets either trying to ‘fill space’ or to make a political point. The first aspect is usually linked to technology and tries to paint the logistics sector as ill-equipped to take on the hi-tech so-called disrupters. This is a lazy slur as there are great technological solutions offered by BIFA Members both large and small. With Brexit, our constant questioning of government has been for more detail on day-one arrangements. UK industry has been similarly asking for clarity so it can make effective plans. An annoying refrain recently is that logistics firms need to hire more staff to be ready for a possible ‘no-deal’ Brexit. As usual, the government does not understand how commercial businesses run. No firm will speculatively hire and train staff for jobs that may not be needed. Business needs certainty.


Finally, a new development by the CCS-UK User Group may see a significant reduction in congestion at the


part of the Heathrow Cargo Terminal known colloquially as ‘the Horseshoe’. CCS-UK is working on a new module that may speed up deliveries to, and collections from, transit sheds at London Heathrow airport.


Congestion at the Heathrow Cargo Terminal should have been tackled by the airport owner many years ago


so it is good to see a community solution coming forward to try to make forwarders’ lives easier. You can find more details on page 7 of this issue of BIFAlink and on the BIFA website by putting CCS in the search function.


Robert Keen Director General


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