Brussels, 12/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel, is taking seriously allegations of ill-treatment of bovine animals exported to certain third countries and benefiting from export refunds. On 8 April, she wrote to the agriculture ministers of the Member States of the EU to ask them to verify that the control procedures put in place by the regulation of 2003 on the granting of export refunds on the export of live animals are being implemented correctly and to state that she had asked her services to look into the possibility of tightening up provisions in this area still further.
In April 2003, the European Commission adopted a new regulation reinforcing the rules on the granting of export refunds on live bovine animals (EUROPE 8441). These new measures, which have been in force since October 2003, provide for stricter controls at points of exit from the EU and on unloading sites in third countries, putting in place a new kind of sanction (no export refund if a given number of animals arrive dead). On 3 February 2003, other new provisions entered into force limiting export refunds as much as possible for live bovines destined for slaughter (EUROPE 8392). In her letter, Ms Fischer Boel reminds the Member States of the EU of these rules and calls on them to ensure that the required control proceedings are being observed.
Ill treatment of cattle sent to Lebanon was reported on 6 April by the group “Global Action in the Interest of Animals” (GAIA), the British association “Compassion in World Farming” (CWIF) and the “European Coalition for Livestock” (ECL). These NGOs claim that after a sea trip of around twelve days in appalling conditions (no food or water), once the animals reached Lebanon they were slaughtered “in illegal abattoirs, without having first been stunned”. These organisations accuse the EU of “subsidising cruelty”, as these cattle were sold in third countries due to export refunds. They state that each year, the EU exports 200,000 head of live cattle to the Middle East and the Member States which export the most are Germany, France and Ireland. The EU, they claim, pays out 60 million EUR a year in aid in support of this trade. “For each animal exported, aid of up to 231 EUR is available; this is the average monthly salary in Lebanon”, the NGOs note.