EU: Limit livestock transport to a maximum of eight hours

Published 2022년 7월 21일

Tridge summary

The Agriculture Council, in conjunction with the Vught working group, has proposed updates to the EU's animal transport rules, which have not been changed in over 20 years. The updates aim to regulate transport times, mandate larger lofts, and require additional feeding and consideration of weather conditions. The proposed regulations also include video camera monitoring, GPS tracking, and separate training for truck drivers. However, the group struggles with the variation in control and enforcement of animal transports across EU countries. These proposed changes will be submitted for negotiation with the European Parliament, with the European food agency Efsa providing further advice. The European Commission plans to present a new animal welfare regulation next year.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Until now, pig transports have been allowed for up to 24 hours in specially equipped trucks. The condition is that the animals have constant access to water. For cattle, sheep and goats, a maximum of 28 hours driving with a drinking break of one hour applies. The Agriculture Council approved the recommendations of the so-called Vught working group. It consists of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and Sweden. The working paper of this group aligns EU countries for negotiations with the European Parliament on modernizing the more than 20-year-old animal transport rules. It should be noted that since then animal transports have increased enormously both in number and size. Larger lofts The core of the memorandum is that long-distance transports of cattle for slaughter within the EU and to countries outside it must be limited. Larger lofts must also be built, additional feeding must be given along the way if necessary and it is not allowed to drive in very hot weather. ...

Source: Nieuwe Oogst