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At the request of the Portuguese delegation and with the support of the delegations of France, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Spain, the issue of animal transport is scheduled to be discussed again next Monday during the meeting of the Council of Agriculture Ministers of the European Union.
In its Conclusions on the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Council called on the Commission to review and update Regulation (EC) No 1/2005, in the light of the latest scientific knowledge. According to the fitness check evaluation, it was concluded that the present EU animal welfare legislation on transport has indeed improved, to some extent, the welfare of animals during transport, compared to the period preceding its adoption. There are currently other denominators to be taken into consideration, such as increasing societal expectations and ethical concerns, scientific and technological developments, and future sustainability challenges, which is why there is a need to review this legislation.
The Portuguese delegation and the other signatory countries strongly support the need to revise the legislation so that it contains clear and precise definitions of any requirements/standards aimed at improving welfare conditions during transport. Furthermore, any revised legislation should be based on sound technical and scientific knowledge and draw on the experience and good practices of Member States in implementing and enforcing the legislation, taking into account the need to ensure the economic competitiveness of EU agricultural businesses, bearing in mind that animal transport is fundamental to the normal functioning of the EU animal production sectors and that the main objective of the revision of the legislation should be the facilitation of intra-EU trade under high animal welfare standards and the export of live animals, but not focus on measures aimed at prohibiting or limiting certain types of transport.
January 23, 2023/ European Commission/ European Union.
https://data.consilium.europa.eu
