The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, said on Wednesday 2 December that he believed that “a large part” of the transport of farm animals could be avoided by giving priority to “local trade”.
The European Commission is committed to improving animal welfare standards during transport, the Commissioner recalled, at a meeting of the European Parliament’s committed on the protection of animals.
In particular, he suggested reducing or even abolishing the transport of suckling pigs (young piglets), by “supporting farmers who raise these animals themselves”, said Mr Wojciechowski, answering a question from Daniel Buda (EPP, Romania).
Furthermore, it would be preferable to switch from the transport of live animals to the transport of meat, “if possible”, said the Commissioner, in response to questions from Carmen Avram (S&D, Romania) and Caroline Roose (Greens/EFA, France) on the transport of live animals to non-Members States, in particular. In this way, the Commission wants to reduce the transport time of live animals, the Commissioner summarised.
Improving animal welfare is one of the Commission’s recommendations to Member States in the future strategic plans for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA, Luxembourg), chair of the committee, stressed that animal welfare is an important issue for Commissioner Wojciechowski. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)