Even if RSPCA inspectors are allowed into Dover’s Eastern Docks, they will not be permitted to take part in statutory checks of the vehicles, the Mercury can reveal.

The news came as protesters staged a demonstration at the docks on Saturday demanding a ban on live animal exports.

They were also calling on Dover Harbour Board to allow the RSPCA inspectors into the docks to examine the animals, and the conditions in which they are being transported, prior to them being loaded onto the mv Joline for the Channel crossing to Calais.

Inspections are currently carried out by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) when the animals are loaded on to the lorries.

Mark Plowright, from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, says these supervised loading inspections are “extensive”.

Precautionary checks are then made at the docks. These involve a “careful visual inspection” of the animals for “overt welfare problems” and for any signs that they have become unfit for the journey.

Mr Plowright said: “The relevant EU legislation requires that any statutory inspections are risk-based, proportionate and non-discriminatory. Requiring the same consignment to be further inspected or checked would not meet these important legal requirements.

“It is for the Dover Harbour Board to determine whether RSPCA inspectors should be permitted into the harbour area.

“However, once there, they would not be permitted to take part in any statutory checks made by AHVLA inspectors.

“Neither the government nor the AHVLA can operate above the law, as to do so would result in successful legal challenge leading to the payment of financial compensation.”

Full story and photos of Saturday's demonstration in today's Dover Mercury.