Brussels, 18/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - Although European Commissioner for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel voiced support for reinforces inspections of exports of live cattle subsidised by the Community budget (EUROPE 8926), Denmark believes the meat and not the live animals ought to be exported and that the EU “should stop providing economic incentives for the export of live bovine animals for slaughter”. This is explained by the Danish government in a notes sent to the Agriculture Council in which it calls on the Commission “to immediately end export support”. Denmark is calling on the Commission to indicate the amount of Community funds for export aid of bovine animals for slaughter and the number of animals exported; to state whether export aid has been refused and whether sanctions have been imposed in this area; to reiterate its position on aid for the export of live bovine animals for slaughter.
Community exports of live bovine animals, mainly from Ireland and to a lesser extent from France, mainly go to the Lebanon and Egypt. Denmark points out that the EU grants aid to export of bovines to third countries and that these animals are slaughtered as soon as they arrive (after a journey that “often takes several days”) and that payment of this export aid is depends on respect for the 2003 regulation on animal protection in transport.