The European Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport is voting on Thursday 2 December on amendments to the report and, above all, on recommendations to improve the current rules on animal transport, which date from 2005.
The European Commission is expected to make proposals on this sensitive issue in 2023.
After 15 months of work, the Committee of Inquiry on the Protection of Animals during Transport, chaired by Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA, Luxembourg), is about to endorse compromises between European Parliament political groups on a report and recommendations on animal transport by Isabel Carvalhais (S&D, Portugal) and Daniel Buda (EPP, Romania).
A debate took place on Wednesday 1 December in this Committee of Inquiry, in preparation for the vote the following day.
The content of the report is much less problematic than the drafting of the recommendations.
The European Parliament plenary vote on the recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry will take place in January 2022 (the report will only be presented).
EUROPE was able to obtain the hundred or so compromise amendments negotiated between the coordinators on the survey report and the resulting recommendations.
Live animals. The compromise amendment stresses that the replacement, “as far as possible”, of the transport of live animals by the transport of carcasses, meat products and genetic material would be in line with the main objective of the EU’s ‘farm to fork’ strategy (transport of germinal products can reduce the environmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions and fuel consumption).
Mr Buda argued on Wednesday for a “reasonable time” between the live animal and the carcass and a reduction in the transport of live animals. “We also need to make better use of transport corridors”, the rapporteur insisted.
The temperature of the transport must be guaranteed inside the vehicles, Mr Buda also said.
On animal exports to third countries, Mr Buda defended the continuation of this trade. Isabel Carvalhais explained that the compromise asks the Commission to set up “a certification system” to ensure that transport conditions comply with EU rules.
Transport time. The alternative compromise amendment, carried mainly by the Greens/EFA group, recommends that in future legislation the journey time should not exceed 8 hours, but the maximum transport time could be extended to 24 hours in the case of transport by sea (subject to the establishment of clear rules on animal welfare). The compromise between the groups refers to the end of long-distance transport (i.e. maximum 8 hours), but regional specificities must be taken into account.
For unweaned animals, the rapporteurs’ compromise provides for a ban on transport under 4 weeks (except where the distance is less than 50 km), only for calves. The ‘alternative’ compromise provides for a ban on transport under 5 weeks for all animals and then an additional limit of 2 hours of transport until the animals are weaned.
For animals at the end of their lives, the transport time should not exceed 4 hours, according to the compromise.
Link to the compromise amendments: https://bit.ly/3DcAYEo
Link to the alternative amendments: https://bit.ly/3lqo3J1 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)