EP AGRI Committee vote on implementation report and urge EU states to improve conditions for live transport of animals

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EP AGRI Committee vote on implementation report and urge EU states to improve conditions for live transport of animals

24 January 2019
News
The EU and its member states must enforce existing rules on protecting transported animals better and penalise all offenders, the Agriculture Committee said on Thursday.

In a resolution, adopted by 22 votes in favour to 12 against, with four abstentions, the Agriculture Committee reiterated Parliament’s 2012 call for a strong and harmonised enforcement of the 2005 EU law on the protection of animals during transport, which is currently poorly applied in some member states.

Tougher penalties for offenders 

To this end, the EU Commission should not shy away from imposing sanctions on member states, which fail to apply the EU rules correctly, MEPs say. Member states for their part should prosecute breaches of EU rules with effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties, harmonised at EU level, reflecting the damage, scope, duration and recurrence of the infringement. These sanctions should include confiscation of vehicles and compulsory retraining of staff responsible for animal welfare.

Stricter checks and better transport vehicles

MEPs want to deploy modern technology to improve enforcement of current rules. They call on the Commission to develop geolocation systems that would enable animals’ location and the duration of journeys in vehicles to be tracked. They also demand a real-time feedback loop between points of departure and arrival and penalties for those who falsely fill in journey logs.