In the European Union, Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 applies to the transport of animals that takes place within and from the EU in connection with an economic activity. A vast range of animal species are transported within the EU and beyond for commercial activities, but the Transport Regulation does not guarantee effective protection to all of them. The majority of its provisions refer only to the welfare of certain terrestrial farmed animal species: the requirements for the transport of fish, companion animals and equines are less developed; and measures to ensure the welfare of a large group of species transported for scientific purposes are completely absent.

This white paper is Eurogroup for Animals’ response to the European Commission’s stated aims in revising the Transport Regulation: “to align it with the latest scientific evidence, broaden its scope, make it easier to enforce and ultimately ensure a higher level of animal welfare”. As a general principle, the revised Transport Regulation should adhere to the basic principles of reducing, refining and replacing live transport, whenever applicable.

Originally published in 2021, this white paper received an update in 2024 to factor in recent European Food Safety Authority opinions on live transport, the results of the 2023 special Eurobarometer on animal welfare and more.

This updated version also includes a critical analysis of the European Commission’s recent proposal for a revised regulation on the protection of animals during transport and related operations.

This White Paper details part of Eurogroup for Animals’ response to the outdated animal welfare legislation, which includes the Council Regulation 1099/2009 (Slaughter Regulation). The Slaughter Regulation entered into force in 2013 and, already at that time, the co-legislators stressed that, as scientific and technical progress is regularly made with regard to the construction, layout, and equipment of slaughterhouses, and with regard to the handling and restraining of animals, it was important to authorise the European Commission to amend the requirements applicable in these regards.

Eurogroup for Animals believes that a comprehensive approach is needed to ensure that the equipment used and procedures followed in slaughterhouses do not cause unnecessary fear, pain and distress to farmed animals.

The European Commission has an opportunity to deliver, in line with its ambitions contained in the Farm to Fork strategy, a future-proofed legal foundation for standards — evidence-based standards that provide the ability for all farmed animals to experience a positively affected mental state, thereby enabling them to lead lives that are truly worth living. Any farming practices that cannot meet such requirements should, in effect, be eliminated. Many animals such as fish, beef cattle, turkeys, rabbits, quails, sheep, and goats are neglected by current legislation and require species-specific welfare rules. In doing so, Europe would remain a world leader in animal welfare standards, citizens expectations would be met, and no animal would be left behind.