Dear Commissioners,
Every year millions of farmed animals are transported alive by road, sea, rail, and air within the European Union (EU) Member States (MS) and to extra-EU countries for breeding, fattening and slaughter purposes. The protection of animals during transport and related operations is disciplined by Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 (hereafter named Regulation 1/2005).
In the last decades, however, a vast body of scientific literature, official reports by the European Commission and investigations from civil society organisations have extensively shown that Regulation 1/2005 is not only being poorly enforced by MS, but it fails to adequately protect animals since it is based on outdated scientific knowledge.
In the Farm to Fork Strategy, the European Commission has set the goal “to revise the animal welfare legislation, including on animal transport and the slaughter of animals, to align it with the latest scientific evidence, broaden its scope, make it easier to enforce and ultimately ensure a higher level of animal welfare”.
The revision of Regulation 1/2005 represents a unique opportunity for the European Commission and the EU co-legislators to strengthen and improve the protection of animals during transport, along with effectively addressing the most urgent welfare issues to spare animals any avoidable suffering.
In light of these considerations, I/we call for a revision of Regulation 1/2005 that must include:
- A ban on the transport of live farmed animals to extra-EU countries
- A ban on long-distance transport of live animals within the EU and a limit on maximum journey times of 8 hours for adult bovines, ovines and swine, and 4 hours for poultry and rabbits
- A ban on the transport of unweaned and pregnant animals (for whom 40% or more of the expected gestation period has already passed)
- The definition of species- and category-specific conditions to ensure fitness for transport, and to establish minimum and maximum external temperatures, space allowance parameters, and the provision of watering and feeding during the transport of live animals within the EU.
- The reduction, refinement and replacement of the transport of live farmed animals by that of meat/carcasses and semen/embryos, as recommended by the FVE, OIE and EFSA.
We further ask for stricter enforcement of the Transport Regulation, alongside a higher number of official inspections and controls, and more severe sanctions in case of verified infringements.
My/our requests join those of tens of thousands of European citizens that have recently participated in the public consultation on the revision of EU animal welfare legislation and have unanimously expressed the urgency to adopt improved and stringent dispositions to enhance and advance the protection of animals during transport and related operations.