Barnier calls for a EU-UK Veterinary Area to lower checks on live animals
Brexit is coming and, inevitably, so is the deadline for the UK and the EU-27 to conclude the withdrawal agreement. On 17 October, the EU heads of State and Governments will meet in a European Council solely aimed at dealing with Brexit. Only after this meeting will it be decided whether conditions are met to plan an extra summit in November, to finalise the talks. Over the past months, the likeliness of a disorderly Brexit, in the absence of a deal, has strongly increased. In most post-Brexit scenarios, measures will have to be adopted to avoid a huge number of animals suffering due to increased bottlenecks at the borders. Eurogroup for Animals thus welcomes that EU Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has taken on board its proposal to work towards an EU-UK Common Veterinary Area.
The impact of Brexit, especially a disorderly one, will be felt at the borders. Thousands of live animals cross the UK-EU27 borders every day, and not only on the island of Ireland. In common with any type of products, live animals have to be checked at the border, which can lead to huge delays and to animals having to wait, often in poor conditions, for days. To better understand what is at stake, one can look at the border between Bulgaria and Turkey, where animals have to undergo all necessary checks and wait an average of six hours, most often without sufficient care and in horrendous conditions. The number of animals that could be crossing a UK-EU border is far higher and, at the moment, the existing infrastructure is not adequate to ensure the welfare of animals is respected during crossings.
Since its creation, the “Brexit and Animals” taskforce [1] has been vocal about the risks such “no deal” Brexit would entail for animals (see also this article). It is in this context that Eurogroup for Animals had informally raised the idea that the EU and the UK should consider a common veterinary area, on the model of what exists between Switzerland and the EU. The EU-Switzerland “single veterinary agreement” implies the equivalence, and thus a complete alignment, between the EU and Swiss rules and creates a joint mechanism to discuss arising issues. Veterinary checks at the border can thus be reduced and even eliminated.
It is thus a clear progress to hear Michel Barnier, the EU Chief negotiator for Brexit, mentioning the possibility of a future EU-UK veterinary area in a public speech he gave on 10 October 2018, explicitly referring to the aim of lowering veterinary checks between both partners.
Next week will be crucial for Brussels and London. Whatever the result of the most recent discussions, especially around the Irish border, it will be important to continue raising animal-related concern throughout the entire process, to ensure animal welfare standards are not – even de facto – lowered as a result.
NOTES:
[1] The Brexit & Animals Taskforce comprises 11 of the UK’s leading animal welfare organisations, working together to ensure that animal welfare is protected and, where possible, advanced as the UK withdraws from the European Union.
Bulgaria IS a member state of the European Union. As such, it is required to adhere to Regulation 1/2005 for the welfare of animals when any livestock is being transported.
This expose shows again that the EU has no control over the transport of live animals; and what’s more, it does not care. Flashy new videos and driver guides etc; which amount to nothing – no changes. The EU Commission passes the buck of any responsibility back to the member state involved. The EU just wipe their hands of the situation and turn the other way. I have experienced this for over 25 years investigating live animal transport within Europe. Nothing changes despite what the EU thinks. – Mark
Eyewitness: 40 Pigs Thrown Into the Sea in Animal Transport Horror
Dramatic video footage of live-animal transport reveals that pigs suffered and died in the summer heat during a four-day ferry journey.
PETA Germany received the footage, which was shot by an eyewitness on the vessel between 24 and 28 July 2018, showing lorries loaded with pigs being transported by ferry from Bulgaria to Georgia.
So far, it’s not known where the pigs were farmed.
According to the eyewitness, the animals were given no water or food while on board and, because the lorries were in the blazing sun, were subjected to extreme temperatures. Weak pigs were left to suffer, receiving no veterinary care. The eyewitness saw 40 ill or dead pigs being taken from the lorries and thrown into the sea.
PETA Germany is currently unable to report the companies responsible for these animals’ suffering to authorities because it hasn’t received enough information to do so. But the group has written to the Bulgarian and Georgian authorities to inform them of the incident and to call for an investigation.
What You Can Do
Every week, more than a billion live animals worldwide are transported over long distances, often through blazing heat or freezing cold and without food, water, or veterinary care – as if they were nothing more than freight. Their gruelling journeys typically end at an abattoir, where they face a terrifying death. Others end up in pet shop displays or laboratory cages.
Last year, an estimated 30,000 cows were forced to make long, harrowing journeys from Ireland to Turkey, sometimes in temperatures of up to 41.5 degrees. Exhaustion, dehydration, and death are common during these trips. Ireland plans to export 50,000 cows this year. Contact the country’s Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to let him know that live export is incompatible with animal welfare and must come to an end.
Germany gives free rein to boar hunters to contain swine fever risk
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany issued a decree on Wednesday to allow hunters to shoot wild boar year-round to stop the animals, which can carry African swine fever, from passing the deadly infection on to farm pigs.
While no case has yet been detected in Germany’s wild boar population, the spread of the disease in eastern Europe is causing immense concern in Germany, whose pork industry has seen huge growth in exports to countries including China.
A government spokesman said the cabinet’s decision was taken to bring about a “significant reduction” in the wild boar population and contain the risk of farm pigs being infected.
The cabinet also agreed on protection measures which would kick in if a case of swine fever was reported in Germany, such as the creation of security zones around affected areas and mandatory disinfection of animal transportation vehicles.
WAV Comment –
See paras 258 to 274 of this following link for further detail:
Disinfection of transport vehicles should always be undertaken after every journey according to EU Reg 1/2005 – otherwise disease could be spread from (possibly diseased) animals that have left the truck, to new animals being loaded onto it. Its called ‘Biosecurity’ – although in reality, there is little security of disease control. This is not something ‘new’ from a government; it should be a routine standard for livestock hauliers !
Are we saying that normally German hauliers do not disinfect according to 1/2005 normally ? – seems that way – so according to 1/2005, they should be prosecuted as they are not enforcing EU regulations ! – Does the German government care ? – of course not.
So, blame the wild boar and hunt them all instead. Much easier to kill rather than disinfecting livestock transporters which haul (infected ?) livestock all over the EU. Livestock biosecurity and disease control has always been a big issue of mine and I have raised the issue many times with the EU – response – the EU does not give a toss; as with anything associated with live animal transport – this is why EU live animal transport is in such a mess.
– Mark.
The virus, which causes African swine fever, is harmless to humans and other animals. But for wild boar and farm pigs, the disease is deadly in almost all cases within 10 days. There is no vaccine against African swine fever.
Germany, a major European Union pig producer, has watched with growing concern as the highly contagious disease has spread westward across Europe. A reported case could trigger mass culls.
Animal protection group PETA criticized the cabinet’s decision, saying the government was subordinating animal welfare to economic interests.
“The de facto cancelling of the off-season will cause great animal suffering, because the young are dependent on their mother during the rearing phase,” PETA said in a statement. “Countless piglets will starve to death.”
Infected wild boars have been found in the Czech Republic and Poland, while backyard pigs with the disease were found in Romania in January.
German farmers have called for 70 percent of the country’s relatively large wild boar population to be culled.
WAV – why don’t they (German farmers) call for tightening of biosecurity rules in transporters hauling live animals (ie pigs) all over the country and to other parts of Europe. A kind of link with Bovine TB in the UK – probably not badgers spreading, but the fact that TB infected livestock is transported all over the UK in trucks that may not be disinfected after each consignment. Again; blame and kill Badgers – it is much easier than enforcing rules for hauliers ! – Mark.
German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt has rejected a plea from the farming association to refrain from imposing an export ban if African swine fever was identified in wild boars, saying Germany was not in a position to bypass EU rules.
Demonstrators acting as ‘farm workers’ dragged four animal rights activists across UN Plaza. Then, a searing hot iron heated to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit was plunged into the activists’ arms and shoulders as they grimaced in pain.
In a statement, In Defense of Animals President Marilyn Kroplick, M.D. highlighted the importance of the peaceful protest: “We brought the hidden suffering of billions of animals to the streets of San Francisco on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday with his message, ‘be the change you want to see in the world’. You can make a difference by choosing vegan options and enjoy benefits to your health, animals, and the environment.”
The first human-branding protest for animal rights occurred in Israel on World Day for Farmed Animals in 2012. It sparked an international movement called 269Life and the practice quickly caught on in other parts of the world, including Italy, Argentina, Australia, and the United States. The movement was named in honor of Calf 269, who narrowly avoided death when he was rescued from an Israeli dairy farm.
To date, thousands of animal activists around the globe have demonstrated their solidarity with the food industry’s animal victims by having the number 269 tattooed or branded into their flesh.
The human-branding protest in San Francisco yesterday was the first of its kind to take place in the state of California.
WAV Comment – well done them for showing the world the suffering inflicted on many farm animals every day – effective !
It Is 2018; not 1618 – so its time to give animals the respect they deserve.
Break the cages, close the labs, shut down the slaughterhouses; stop the transport; trash all the bear bile facilities and free all the bears. Put money second just for once; respect ALL sentient beings.
MISSION OF WORLD ANIMAL DAY
To raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe. Building the celebration of World Animal Day unites the animal welfare movement, mobilising it into a global force to make the world a better place for all animals. It’s celebrated in different ways in every country, irrespective of nationality, religion, faith or political ideology. Through increased awareness and education we can create a world where animals are always recognised as sentient beings and full regard is always paid to their welfare.
Nearly every single commercial airline refuses to fly monkeys and other animals to laboratories.
But a group is now trying to force them to do so.
If it’s successful, airlines will be have no choice but to ship tens of thousands of monkeys to U.S. laboratories where they’d be caged, poisoned, cut into, and worse—until the day they’re killed.
Federal records show that monkeys in laboratories have died when gauze was left in their bodies after surgery, when they were left in cages that were put through scalding-hot washers, and in other horrific ways.
We’ve worked so hard to help airlines ban shipping animals to laboratories, and we’re not about to let some depraved group of experimenters force them to do it again.
German chickens are an export hit: Every year hundreds of thousands of chicks are transported by plane around the world. This shows the response of the Federal Government to a request from the Greens. How many animals are dying, the Ministry of Agriculture does not know – in the Netherlands recently 19,000 chicks frozen in the cargo hold.Dead chicks in a transport box – found at the airport Amsterdam. Photo: NVWA
According to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Germany exported 1.77 million animals by air last year. Almost a third of them were flown to Russia, 217,000 to Pakistan and 156,000 to Uzbekistan. In 2016, there were a total of more than 4 million chickens chickens who went on a plane trip. The significant decline in exports is related to the avian influenza outbreak here. Many third countries would then have prohibited imports from Germany.
Green find practice absurd
The export by air plays an important role in the business of so-called breeding and reproductive chicks, said a spokeswoman for the Association of Poultry Economics
The animals are used to build herds elsewhere, and are quite valuable.
Legally prescribed transport times for the chicks are often only to be observed for air transports, the association said. An important transport center is Frankfurt Airport, which specializes in the handling of live animals.
Green Parliament’s deputy Friedrich Ostendorff called it “absurd, newly hatched chicks to fly halfway around the world.” That does not fit his image of animal-friendly agriculture. He pointed out that in case of delays the supply of the animals was hardly guaranteed. “In the worst case, this leads to the death of thousands of animals,” said Ostendorff.
Dead chicks in Amsterdam
How many chicks die in such transports, the poultry Association could not say. The Federal Government could call on the Green request no numbers. In 2013, the fire of a plane at Leipzig Airport killed tens of thousands of chicks, which are supposed to be exported to the Caucasus. The crew was able to save themselves from the flames.
In the Netherlands, too, a chick transport recently hit the headlines: At Amsterdam Airport, veterinarians discovered 19,000 dead turkey chicks in December, who were actually en route from Canada to Poland.The animals had allegedly died of hypothermia in the air.
The Netherlands are significantly more active in chick-air transport than Germany.In 2017, nearly 600,000 day old chicks were imported into the EU via the Netherlands. Target countries were often Austria and Poland. Meanwhile, 23 million turkey and chicken chicks left the Netherlands for the onward journey by plane.
My comment: The Green politician Ostendorff has said: “In the worst case, these leads to the death of thousands of animals”.
Does he really believe, that such a thing interests the meat and transport mafia?
If these professional killer had an interest in the lives of the animals, they would not do that job.
Therefore, if a few thousand “products” break down, then the company gets compensation.
Such “losses” are part of the job risk, and immediately try to repair the damage. With new animals, with new victim
But on the other hand, the responsibility is not only and not fully due to the meat ma.
All who eat these victims finance the business.
We order, they kill. Because for an apathetic majority taste is more important than life. He who does not act morally has failed!
For years, nearly every commercial airline has refused to fly monkeys and other animals to laboratories, where they would face torment and death.
Now, a trade group representing animal experimenters that defends all experiments on animals, no matter how cruel, has filed a legal complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation to force airlines to transport monkeys to laboratories.
If they’re successful, airlines will be legally compelled to ship tens of thousands of monkeys from China and other countries to U.S laboratories where they’d be caged alone, poisoned, cut into, kept thirsty to coerce them to obey, and eventually killed.
Please take action right now by leaving polite comments stating that you want airlines to be able to make their own policy decisions and that monkeys should never be torn from their families, shoved into tiny wooden boxes, stuffed into the dark and terrifying cargo holds of commercial airplanes, and flown thousands of miles to certain suffering and death in laboratories
The accident of an animal transportercost the lives of numerous pigs on the night of Tuesday, 18 September.This happened on the road to Schweinfurt (Bavarian) .
The desperate squealing of the pigs was heard widely in the night in the district of Schweinfurt.On the street there, the animal transporter had an accident.At least 30 pigs have died painfully.
40-tonner turned over in curve
The driver of an animal transporter had lost control of his vehicle shortly before 11 pm. The 40-tonner started to roll and finally overturned.
According to the police, there were about 90 pigs in the animal transporter. Many of them were killed in the accident, others seriously injured. The rescue teams were supported on site by three veterinarians. The veterinarians had to decide on each of the injured animals if an emergency slaughter was necessary.Some pigs were released from their agony with a “coup de grace”.
Screams widely audible
Overall, the police currently assume that 30 pigs were killed during or after the accident. The other animals could be loaded onto other transporters. Driver and passenger of the animal transporter were injured in the accident and taken to a hospital.
Stressful use for rescuers
The damage is estimated at around 100,000 euros (!!!) The cause of the accident is still unclear. However, according to the police, there are indications that the driver of the semitrailer has traveled too fastand therefore got off the road.
More than 80 firefighters were on duty for hours. The mission was also very stressful for her. The rescue of the animal carrier offered them cruel pictures.Injured and dead animals were in the vehicle.Others squealed and screamed in panic and pain.
And I say: The firefighters were shocked by the screaming pigs.
Only Germany does not hear anything anymore.
Germany and its incompetent politicians in the Federal Parliament and in the EU Commission find no reason to abolish animal transport. Never had Germany such a ridiculous government as today.
Well this morning – 20/9/18; we are now being informed that the EU leaders; led by un elected Donald Tusk and Jean Claude Alcoholic are still refusing to do any deal with the UK regarding the UK leaving the EU; which will be next March. The EU still obviously wants to punish the UK, as it always has done; for voting to leave the ‘club’; a deliberate attempt as it always has been to discourage other EU member states for daring to even think about voting leave and get out of this monolith.
In a (UK) national referendum held over 2 years ago; the British people voted to leave the EU. Why ? – there are many major issues; but let us focus on just one that we have had concerns about for many years – live animal transport.
When you look at the Europa web site regarding live animal transport; everything seems so perfect. The EU claims to be oh so perfect. Legislation is in place throughout the EU in the form of Regulkation 1/2005; so why is it being questioned about non compliance ?
As we have shown and said many times over the years on our ‘Serbian Animal Voice’ site; the whole issue of live animal transport across the EU can only be described as a pathetic joke which enforces untold suffering on thousands of animals. The bigwigs of Europe want to make money from live exports; but in turn they do nothing to enforce the regulations. And our MEPs; yes our so called Members of the European Parliament; who almost every day sit in the great monolith of Brussels and together decide that really, nothing can be done on the issue of live animal transport. So what have we elected them into the Europarliament for ? – representing the people and their wishes ? – no not really. Playing the EU game and ensuring that issues such as live transport; which means so much to many throughout Europe is continually ignored and not acted on ? – well yes.
– this is the actual reality of EU live animal transport; and shows how the rules; EU rules, in the guise of Regulation 1/2005, are NOT being enforced.
The above are just some of our work regarding live animal transportation; there is more.
So; it kind of sticks in many British peoples throats when we see un elected Tusk and Jean Claude Alcoholic standing in Brussels every day and dismissing all efforts by the UK government to get a decent divorce with the EU. As we show above; if the EU leaders did actually enforce existing EU legislation; such as that on animal transport; then we as EU citizens (for the time being anyway) may have a tad more respect for them. But they cannot enforce their own regulations; or really care about them; and then they go on a witchhunt to try and say how terrible the UK is !
The UK, as the second largest financial contributor to the EU (is this why they don’t want us to go and will do everything they can to stop us ?) and does abide by EU legislation on nearly everything. The UK is a good nation when it comes to playing by the often pathetic EU rules and paying our way. Can the same be said for some other EU member states and those waiting as ‘Candidate countries’ such as Serbia ? – we have exposed all their non compliances with the rule of law (Copenhagen Criteria) over the years and we have provided endless amounts of data to the EU Enlargement Commission to say that the rule of law is not being adhered to in Serbia. What have we had in return ? – no responses from the EU (as expected) – a system which regards itself above us and the law; the almighty one could say; almighty balls up, we would say.
So over the last 2 years since the vote to leave, the EU hits out at the UK; doing everything; literally everything; to make threats to the UK to frighten it that leaving would be such a terrible thing. Is the reality in fact the EU is scared that the UK is going to make a real positive move when it breaks free from the shackles of the EU; something which may show other existing (EU) member states that in reality; they will be better off away from the ‘super state’ mentality and vision that we see from Tusk and Junker.
Above – “I can do nothing” Mr Van Goethem proudly displays the EU flag, which yes, does nothing.
As the UK Prime Minister has said; when it comes to a divorce from the EU; the UK may be better off with no deal rather than a bad one from the EU. Our advice now to PM May; get out and walk away from the continuing bully boy tactics that we as a nation have endured from the EU for the last 2 years or more. Strange how our MEPs have often remained so silent about all this; certainly those in South East England. Maybe they are hoping that the day comes when the UK decides to get back in the monolithic club so that they can continue to be representatives of British EU citizens whilst not really getting that involved with specific issues that concern them – ie live animal transport.
When the UK walks out of the EU next March, the abuse of EU animals throughout Europe will not stop; no one says it will; UK welfare campaigners fully accept that. But by walking away, the UK should at least be able to take back control of its own national issues; free from the crap that is the EU. Organisations such as EoA, CIWF and many others will continue to present hard, real evidence that live animal transport in the EU simply does not work. Via the MEP / Parliament system that the monolith employs; there will continue to be no real votes for any hard hitting drastic change to make things better for the animals. It will be post Brexit, very much the Status Quo with regard issues within the EU. As long as everyone at the EU is being paid their salary for doing what ?, why should we expect change ?
Europe is heading for a superstate type system; where the normal man and women have no real voice; just like now; and the voices of change come only from Amazon, BMW, and others who have massive influence in many ways over the masters of the universe. Does Europe make sure they pay their taxes like Mr and Mrs EU citizen ? – of course not; alcoholic Junker has seen to that in the past:
Does he give tax saving incentives to the likes of animal welfare organisations ? – of course not; he wants to see them die along with the livestock that he allows to be abused throughout the EU each and every day. Gains for Junker; gains for the EU; a system that does not listen to the people; threats to those who wish to leave this farce – how very typical. And this is the man in charge of the EU ! – no wonder the entire system is progressing in just a few money making directions.
The coming months will see the results of the UK Brexit / EU standoff. But just one thing to remember; the UK has faced some hard challenges in the past – two World Wars, the Blitz, IRA bombings and killings for many decades; so a pair of chuckle brothers such as Junker and Tusk are seen by the British people for what they are – pissed up self importants who are probably corrupt to the hilt.
Do we want to suck up to them and the ideology that Europe is happy and all smiles in the system ? – no, we do not want. The sooner we walk away from the chuckle brothers the better – then we will really see how brilliant they are !
