Brussels, 18/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - In Luxembourg on Monday 18 June, the European agriculture ministers stood divided over the conditions for tightening the rules on the transport of farm animals. In their conclusions, they go no further than to urge the European Commission to take account of new and existing scientific data on animal welfare during transport and technological progress “when it is in future looking at additional actions and possible changes to the regulation on the protection of animals during transport”.
In a declaration, Sweden, supported by the Belgian, Danish and Austrian delegations, states that it is “deeply disappointed by the fact that the Council was unable to agree on a proposal to step up protection for animals during transport, particularly because - according to the Commission's report on the regulation concerning the protection of animals during transport - the current provisions are not compatible with the latest scientific data in the field”. In the view of these four countries, “it is vital that the rules in force are respected and that the legislation is continuously updated on the basis of the latest research discoveries; furthermore, it is extremely important for journey times to be limited, particularly for animals destined for slaughter and animals that have not been weaned”. In the case of animals destined for slaughter, Sweden, supported by these three countries, would like journey times to be limited to a maximum of eight hours (which the European Parliament is also calling for).
The United Kingdom has also published a declaration, in which it agrees with the European Commission that the first priority should be a better application of existing legislation as regards animal welfare during transport, throughout the EU. However, the UK would like the rules on long journeys to be revised to take account of new and existing scientific data, particularly those presented in the recent report of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), notably with a view to bringing journey times down to a maximum of 12 hours for horses destined for slaughter. The UK would also like an examination of the issue of greater protection for young stock, particularly calves, taking account of the Commission's guidelines on the treatment of calves which have not been weaned during long journeys and given the fact that the transport of unweaned calves covers very long distances in some cases, which may require several journeys of 19 hours.
In the conclusions, the European agriculture ministers also: - note that the introduction of optional labelling systems could be a means of encouraging the application of higher animal welfare standards, but only if these systems genuinely have the trust of consumers, are reliable and transparent, effectively get across the appropriate animal welfare message and go beyond the minimum standards laid down by legislation; - call upon the Commission to determine whether a comparative assessment based on relevant and measurable animal welfare indicators could be a way of providing consumers and citizens with the information they need to make fully informed choices. (LC/transl.fl)