Animal transport rules should protect animals, not punish farmers

The work of the parliamentary inquiry committee which looked into the protection of animals during transport has shown that we need better transport conditions for live animals, says the EPP Group's Daniel Buda MEP, Parliament's negotiator of the committee’s final report.

"We need to improve infrastructure, promote local slaughterhouses and introduce smart rules that take different circumstances into account”, said Buda, criticising the Greens’ proposals that would push many farms out of business.

“Setting an absolute maximum transport time without any flexibility would punish all farmers - particularly small family farms in remote areas with the least possibilities to compensate the loss of their income. Instead of putting these small farms out of business, we need to cut the transport times by investing in improvements of infrastructure and supporting local slaughterhouses”, added Buda.

“The committee looked closely into transport conditions and unfortunately found lots of room for improvement. We must pay attention to transport temperatures and the transport of vulnerable animals. We also need faster border crossings with special lanes and expert monitoring up until the final destination. Farmers have to be helped to be able to ensure the right conditions”, Buda said.

"Last but not least, transport to third countries must continue, respecting the highest standards of animal welfare", concluded Buda.