In a report published on 9 August, the European Commission identified weaknesses in the Croatian system for monitoring the protection of animals transported by sea to third countries.
The aim of the audit carried out by experts from the EU’s Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) was to assess the effectiveness of the measures put in place in Croatia to prevent injury or undue suffering to animals (cattle, sheep and goats) during transport by ship to non-EU countries.
Some of the weaknesses uncovered “reduce the effectiveness” of procedures in Croatia aimed at “minimising the risk of injury or undue suffering during sea transport”, according to the FVO report. The absence of documented procedures for the authorisation of sea transporters leads to ineffective assessment and approval of transporters that do not fulfil all the requirements.
Another complaint is that officials do not identify all deficiencies during pre-loading inspections of vessels, and that the persistence of some of these deficiencies “creates a risk for the welfare of animals during the sea journey”.
The European Commission will include this aspect of transport by sea in its forthcoming proposals to strengthen animal welfare legislation (see EUROPE 13167/4).
Link to the FVO report: https://aeur.eu/f/8c3 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)