WAV Comment – I (Mark) have been witnessing and fighting this vile, disgusting, abusive, cruel, abhorrent, insulting bloody business for over 30 years.  December 2^nd sees the chance for the EU to start to put something into practice; ie legislation, regarding something it has avoided for so many (too many) years; to now finally make a real legislative issues on live animal transport.

Now, finally, we have so many MEP’s who support change; but it is the non-elected Commission which has the final say.  There will be opposition, we expect that, from the industry and the abusive animal transporters who haul innocents all over the EU, and beyond to third states such as Turkey.

Fingers crossed that 2^nd December 21 will be a major turning point for live animal transport across the EU and beyond.

Would I give it another 30+ years of fighting if needed ? – you bet I would.  If the political leaders of the EU were herded into a 3 tier transporter; spent 48 hours crapping and urinating onto each other; without adequate food and water; then you see how quickly the legislation would change !

Now is their chance – lets hope for their benefit, they meet all the demands set out below.  If they don’t, then one has to ask what they are about; certainly not meeting what is required of them by EU citizens.

Regards Mark

On December 2nd the ANIT members can contribute to the building of a truly sustainable transport system by supporting key amendments to the ANIT Report and Recommendations. 

To make sure that human and animal health and welfare will be effectively addressed in the revised Transport Regulation, Eurogroup for Animals urges to:

• Replace terrestrial farmed animals transport with the export of meat, carcasses and genetic materials to non-EU countries.
• Introduce species- and category-specific maximum journey times with a maximum travel time of 8 hours for adult bovine, swine, and ovine, and 4 hours for poultry and rabbits.
• Prohibit the transport of unweaned and pregnant animals (for which 40% of the pregnancy stage has already passed).
• Introducespecies-specific requirements for the commercial movements of fish and invertebrate, laboratory animals, equidae, cats and dogs.
• Introduce clear definitions and species-specific rules for the Intra-EU movement of animals, including stricter and centralised systems for the approval of livestock vessels used to move animals within the EU

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