Eight EU countries blocked the introduction of a ban on long-term transportation of livestock

Eight European Union (EU) countries are trying to prevent a livestock ban lasting more than eight hours, the Dutch portal Nieuwe Oogst reports on January 23. Due to the opposition of Portugal, France, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Spain, it was not possible to obtain the necessary qualified majority to introduce changes to the transport part of the new European animal protection law. Under EU voting rules, the new laws require a majority of countries to vote for them, which should account for more than 65% of the bloc's population. States that oppose the introduction of the law account for about 37% of the EU population. The bloc's countries have long been divided over the issue of live animal exports. For example, Germany, which is currently a major exporter, has already decided to restrict the movement of animals to non-EU countries by canceling veterinary certificates from 1 July 2023. Other countries such as the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium and ...