KEY RECCOMENDATIONS LIVE ANIMAL TRANSPORT A growing number of animals is transported alive across and from the European Union (EU). Despite scientific bodies and institutions have stressed on the detrimental effects transportation has on the welfare of animals transported, the EU is promoting live transport, especially towards Third countries, where no facilities are in place to guarantee animals protection. Eurogroup for Animals calls for: A long-term strategy to replace live animal transport with a trade of meat and carcasses only; Short term actions to improve enforcement of Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 across and outside the EU; Suspension of live animal transport from EU to Third Countries during summer period. BACKGROUND Every year over 1.37 billion live animals are transported across and from the EU, most of them for slaughter. Today, Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 applies to all livestock transport within and from the EU. Indeed in 2015 the Court of Justice (EUCoJ, C-424/13) judged that provisions of the Regulation 1/2005 also apply when animal consignments leave the EU, until final destination. Currently this rule remains disregarded, and despite it is well-known that when animals leave EU they are no longer protected, the EU Commission is promoting and expanding this trade (Annex I). Live transport, especially over long distances, is a major animal welfare concern. Animals are exposed to stress at loading and unloading, and can suffer hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and lack of space and rest during transit. Transporting live animals also poses serious risks for animal and public health due the possible spread of diseases. Scientific evidence shows that the stress of transport weakens the immune system making animals more vulnerable to diseases. LIVE TRANSPORT SHOULD BE REDUCED, REFINED AND REPLACED Since 2007 NGOs have exposed the brutality behind live transport and official audits from Directorate F (DG SANTE) have reported about the poor level of enforcement of Regulation 1/2005. Still audits from 2017 (DG SANTE) report about the high level of ill-compliance (about 90%), confirming the systematic violations by Member States of Regulation 1/2005 as well as of the EUCoJ C-424/13 ruling. Indeed, the situation, already problematic across the EU, gets even worse when animals are exported to Third countries: Outside the EU both the lack of facilities and of official authorities makes impossible to ensure a proper application of the Regulation 1/2005 provisions. In front of all this evidence Eurogroup for Animals and its members in March 2016 have launched #StopTheTrucks, its flagship campaign to end long distance live animal transport. Over 1 million EU citizens backed its petition, calling on the EU Commission and National Governments to improve the conditions of the animals transported alive. Better enforcement is needed to spare animals from major unnecessary suffering. However, some legislative provisions are enforceable, and throughout the years scientific bodies and committee have recommended to shift to a trade of meat and carcasses only (Annex II). World-wide countries are already
trading carcasses and meat [Annex III(a)]. For instance, Jordan, the biggest importer of live sheep from the EU, is ranked as one of the top 10 world importers of meat and carcasses [Annex III(b)]. Also, EU Member States are already transporting carcasses and meat across and outside the EU [Annex IV]. CONCLUSION: The European trade strategy Trade for All requires the trade to be responsible and consistent with broader European value. However, evidence confirms that currently EU live transport practices are carried out in disregards of the basic principle that animals are sentient beings and that the EU Commission and Member States shall pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals (Lisbon Treaty, Art 13). Eurogroup for Animals calls for long and short-term actions to spare animals from unnecessary suffering and thus meet citizens expectation on this matter. Live animal transportations should be phased out and replaced with the trade of meat and carcasses only; To better enforce Regulation 1/2005 within the EU, the EU Commission should develop a harmonised and dissuasive EU sanction system to effectively tackle ill-compliance. Art 21.8 of the Official Control Regulation (Ref. of Regulation 2017/625) should be used to standardise and enhance the quality of the official checks and to implement a more dissuasive sanction system, which shall be proportionate at least to the economic gain of the operator or, as appropriate, shall be equivalent to a fixed percentage of the operator's turnover; Facilities in Third Countries should be built to apply the provisions of Regulation (EC) 1/2005 and implement the legally binding EUCoJ ruling; The EU Commission should revise the Regulation (EC) 1/2005 to align it with current scientific knowledge. CONTACT Francesca Porta Programme Officer - Farm Animals Eurogroup for Animals Email f.porta@eurogroupforanimals.org +32 (0)2 7400828 Rue Ducale 29, B-1000 Brussels
Annex I_Trade of live animals Trend in live animals export (in kilos) 2014 2015 2016 2017 Live horses 9,830,000 9,710,000 8,513,000 8,779,000 Live bovine 207,078,000 321,566,000 397,372,000 434,347,000 Live swine 50,152,000 32,216,000 18,417,000 23,828,000 In 2017 live export increased of + 62.50 % compared with 2014. Further increase is expected to be registered in 2018. Live fowls 15,817,000 14,844,000 13,703,000 11,735,000 Live goat/sheep 77,606,000 80,353,000 111,192,000 107,049,000 Annex II_Scientific Institutions and bodies recommending to shift towards a trade of meat and carcasses only. FVE The long-distance transport of animal for slaughter should be replaced, as much as possible, by a carcasses only trade. The transportation of animals should be subject to the 3R principle it should be refined, reduced and replaced wherever possible. OIE Working Group on Transport EFSA OIE should recommend phasing out of unnecessarily long transport (including export) of animals for slaughter. It should set a date, for example 2020, and work with stockholders including governments towards ending such transportation by that date In order to reduce the risk of transport-associated disease outbreaks, strategies should be developed to reduce the volume of transport (e.g. replacing the transport of breeding animals by using semen or embryos), and long-distance transport of animals for finishing or slaughter (e.g. by the transport of carcasses and food products) or reducing journey times (e.g. by slaughtering animals as close as possible to the site of production).
Annex III(a)_World beef meat imports Annex III(b)_ Top 10 world-importers of sheep meat Source: Beef2Live Source: Agri_Exchange
Annex IV_Trade flow of meat and carcasses* (values in tons) across the EU and from the EU to non- EU countries [Source: Eurostat] 2014 2017 Intra trade EU 28 797,239.07 847,464.43 Export from the EU28 to non-eu countries 176,829.93 236,074.71 Total 974,069.00 1,083.539.14 *categories selected in the data extraction: carcasses or half-carcasses of bovine animals, fresh or chilled; frozen bovine carcasses and half carcasses; fresh or chilled carcasses and half-carcasses of swine; frozen carcasses and half-carcasses of swine; fresh or chilled lamb carcasses and half-carcasses; fresh or chilled sheep carcasses and half-carcasses (excl. lambs); frozen lamb carcasses and half-carcasses; frozen sheep carcasses and half-carcasses (excl. lambs); meat of bovine animals, fresh or chilled; meat of bovine animals, frozen; meat of swine, fresh, chilled or frozen; meat of sheep or goats, fresh, chilled or frozen. Annex V_ Overview documents recommending a revision of Council Regulation 1/2005 and of transport practices. Reference EC, 2000. Report from the Commission and the Council to the EU Parliament on the experience acquired by Member States since the Implementation of Council Directive 95/29/EEC amending Directive 91/628/ EEC concerning the protection of animals during transport. EP, 2001. European Parliament resolution on the Commission report on the experience acquired by Member States since the implementation of Council Directive 95/29/EC amending Directive 91/628/EEC concerning the protection of animals during transport (COM(2000) 809 - C5-0189/2001-2001/2085(COS) FVE, 2001. Position Paper_ Transport of live animals SCAHAW, 2002. Report of the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (SCAHAW). The welfare of animals during Citation Several fundamentals of the Directive should be evaluated on a scientific basis and notably data concerning travelling times and loading densities. "In the case of cattle, horses, goats, sheep and pigs not intended for specific breeding and/or sporting purposes, transport should be limited to a maximum of eight hours duration." The fattening of animal should take place within or near the place of birth. Animals should be slaughtered as near the point of production as possible. The journey time for slaughter animals should never exceed the physiological needs of the animal for food, water or rest. The long-distance transport of animals for slaughter should be replaced, as much as possible, by a carcass only trade. In addition, the transport of animals for breeding purposes can sometimes be replaced by the transport of sperm and embryo." After a few hours of transport welfare tends to become poorer as journey length increases. Hence such animals should not be transported if this can be avoided and journeys should be as short as possible."
transport (details for horses, pigs, sheep and cattle) EFSA, 2004. Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) on a request from the Commission related to the welfare of animals during transport Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations and amending Directives 64/432/EEC and 93/119/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1255/97 FVE, 2008. Position Paper: The welfare of animal during Transport OIE, 2009. Report to the Animal Welfare Working Group of the OIE Ethical concerns relevant to the work of the OIE on international animal welfare guidelines/standards. Long-distance transport (including export) of animals for slaughter EFSA, 2011. Scientific Opinion Concerning of EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare (AHAW) on the Welfare of Animals during Transport EC, 2011. Commission Report on the impact of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 W. Baltussen, G. Gebrensbet, and K.de Roest, 2011. Study on the impact of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport Transport should be avoided wherever possible and journeys should be as short as possible." The EU judged to be more appropriate to set out the community rules governing live transport in a Regulation. Still not maximum journey time is set in this Regulation and the recommendations given by SCAHAW regarding transport time and stocking density are not incorporated into the legislative framework. "The transportation of animals should be subject to the 3R principle it should be refined, reduced and replaced wherever possible. Animals should be reared as close as possible to the premises on which they are born and slaughtered as close as possible to the point of production." "OIE should recommend phasing out of unnecessarily long transport (including export) of animals for slaughter. It should set a target date, for example 2020, and work with stakeholders including governments towards ending such transport by that date." In order to reduce the risk of transport-associated disease outbreaks, strategies should be developed to reduce the volume of transport (e.g. replacing the transport of breeding animals by using semen or embryos), and long-distance transport of animals for finishing or slaughter (e.g. by the transport of carcasses and food products) or reducing journey times (e.g. by slaughtering animals as close as possible to the site of production)." "According to the EFSA opinion it appears that parts of the Regulation are not fully in line with the current scientific knowledge. Enforcement of the Regulation remains a major challenge, partly because of differences in interpretation of the requirements and because of lack of controls by the Member States. Furthermore, the quality of monitoring data, submitted to the Commission by Member States, is often insufficient to provide a clear analysis of the situation and to allow planning of specific corrective measures at EU level." (page "For the main groups of animals there are no indications that animal welfare during transport has improved substantially with the introduction of Regulation (EC) 1/2005."
EP, 2012. European Parliament resolution of 12 December 2012 on the protection of animals during transport (2012/2031) CoJ, 2015. Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 23 April 2015 in Case C-424/13 Animals Angels, 2016. The Myth of Enforcement of Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport_ FVE, 2016. Position paper: FVE calls to end suffering of animals during long distance transports EC, 2016. Overview report Systems to Prevent the Transport of Unfit Animals in the EU D. Broom, 2017. Animal Welfare in the European Union. Study for the Peti committee The European Parliament calls on the Commission and Council to review Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 in the light of the latest scientific evidence published by EFSA. It ruled that Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 also applies journeys outside the EU, so the EU Regulation provisions must be implemented even once the animals have exited EU territory. The report collect evidence on the unenforceability of Regulation 1/2005 s provisions as well as of the main violations occurring during live transport. "Animals should be reared as close as possible to the premises on which they are born and slaughtered as close as possible to the point of production." "There is no generalised use of actions such as suspension or revoking of licences, increased controls or restrictions in activity. While most Member States opt for administrative processes (fines) and sanctions, the former are generally too long to be effective and the latter too low to be dissuasive." "The wording of the legislation needs some improvement."