PURPOSE : to overhaul animal transport rules in Europe.
PROPOSED ACT : Council Regulation.
CONTENT : the proposal from the Commission repeals all existing Community laws in relation to the protection of animals during transport. It also incorporates the requirements of the Commission proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation 411/98/EC as regards ventilation in road vehicles carrying livestock on long journeys.
The process of revision has been developed following the recommendations of the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare and by close scrutiny of the economic impact of the proposed measures. The proposal takes also into account
the outcome of the stakeholders' consultation.
Furthermore in recent years, livestock markets have been proved to be an area where rules to protect the animals are necessary. Similarly, welfare requirements are needed for livestock vessels. Both issues are addressed by the present proposal.
The Commission proposal aims to:
- establish stricter conditions for the transporters operating long distance journeys;
- update journey times and space allowances;
- improve the mandatory training of personnel and widen the scope of this obligation to personnel at markets and assembly centres;
- ban the transport of very young animals and set out definitions for when animals are unfit for transport;
- set up stricter rules for the transport of horses;
- upgrade technical standards for road vehicles;
- introduce specific requirements for all livestock vessels operating from community ports;
- reinforce the responsibilities of the transporters as well as of the other operators concerned by the transport of animals;
- emphasise the role of competent authorities in supervising transport operations and strengthen the cooperation between the services concerned;
- reinforce instruments for control and better enforcement.
Several measures considered in the Commission proposal aim to prevent the spread of diseases, as for example, the stricter regime that would be applied for the transporters operating long distance journeys.�