15/07/2019 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 15 July, the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis, called on EU agriculture ministers to take measures to prevent the transport of farm animals under extreme heat. He pointed out that some countries had decided to stop their exports (especially to Turkey) on days of extreme temperatures. But in 2018, during July and August, 533 trucks carrying cattle and sheep crossed the Turkish border when temperatures exceeded 30 degrees. These animals were sent from 15 different Member States and, in most cases, the conditions of the journey were simply not acceptable. “Many ports in southern Europe lack facilities to protect animals from high temperatures while they wait to be loaded onto ships", the Commissioner also said. (LC)