A4-0266/97

Resolution on the transport of horses and other live animals

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the motion for a resolution tabled by Mr Provan and others on the transport of horses (B4-0183/94),

- having regard to its resolution of 10 June 1983 on the transport of horses for slaughter ((OJ C 184, 11.7.1983, p. 133.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 20 February 1987 on a welfare policy for animals kept for farming purposes ((OJ C 76, 23.3.1987, p. 185.)),

- having regard to its opinion of 6 April 1990 on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the protection of animals during transport ((OJ C 113, 7.5.1990, p. 206.)),

- having regard to its opinion of 15 December 1993 on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 91/628/EEC on the protection of animals during transport ((OJ C 20, 24.1.1994, p. 63.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 15 December 1993 on the protection of animals ((OJ C 20, 24.1.1994, p. 68.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 26 May 1993 on the failure to implement Community legislation on the protection of animals ((OJ C 176, 28.6.1993, p. 62.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 21 January 1994 on the welfare and status of animals in the Community ((OJ C 44, 14.2.1994, p. 206.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 30 September 1994 on the protection of animals in transport ((OJ C 305, 31.1.1994, p. 148.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 15 February 1995 on livestock welfare ((OJ C 56, 6.3.1995, p. 53.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 15 November 1996 on the implementation of Directive 95/29/EC of 29 June 1995 amending Directive 91/628/EEC concerning the protection of animals during transport ((OJ C 362, 2.12.1996, p. 331.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the opinions of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection (A4- 0266/97),

A. whereas, in October 1994, the International League for the Protection of Horses submitted a petition to the President of the European Parliament on horses for slaughter, and whereas that petition was signed by 3 250 000 people, which indicates considerable concern in society for the protection of animal welfare,

B. whereas supplementary provisions are required to govern the transport of horses,

C. whereas a large number of the horses and other animals imported from Eastern Europe are exhausted, injured or even dying by the time they reach the European Union and are then cruelly treated during unloading on entry into the European Union,

D. whereas livestock exported to third countries suffer greatly during the long journeys, and whereas such animals are often cruelly treated when being unloaded on arrival at third country destinations,

E. whereas Article 2 of Directive 95/29/EC clearly states the deadline for transposition of the Directive into the national legislation of the Member States,

F. whereas Directive 95/29/EC has been seriously undermined by the lack of accompanying measures setting out criteria for staging points and means of transport, pursuant to Article 1(9) of the Directive,

G. whereas pursuant to Article 1(9) of Directive 95/29/EC the Commission should have submitted proposals to the Council before 31 December 1995 on the fixing of standards for means of transport,

H. whereas pursuant to Article 1(9) of Directive 95/29/EC the Council should have laid down the Community criteria for staging points before 30 June 1996 on a proposal from the Commission,

I. whereas inspections carried out by animal protection organizations have indicated serious malpractices both at external frontiers and within the European Union,

J. whereas, to date, Directive 95/29/EC has failed to produce any significant improvement in the welfare of animals transported over long distances,

K. whereas the control on transport exercised by the Commission and the Member States is insufficient to guarantee the welfare of animals,

L. whereas Article B2-511 of the 1997 budget includes a sum of ECU 2 500 000 intended for expenditure in connection with monitoring compliance with animal protection provisions concerning the transport of animals for slaughter inside and outside the European Union,

M. whereas the transport of live animals considerably increases the risk of the spread of infectious diseases,

N. whereas irresponsible transport of animals not only causes unnecessary distress to animals but also affects the quality of the meat,

GENERAL

1. Considers that animals intended for meat should in principle be slaughtered as close as possible to their place of origin and that any transport needed must comply with minimum requirements to guarantee the welfare of the animals;

2. Considers that the long-distance transport of animals intended for consumption is not only undesirable but also unnecessary since modern chilling techniques allow meat to be transported for long periods either chilled or frozen;

3. Calls on the Commission, with a view to animal welfare, to develop a policy to ensure that long-distance transport is restricted, or carried out as far as possible by rail or water, if fewer stops are therefore needed and animals may be transported under better conditions;

4. Calls on the Commission to submit a proposal to reestablish adequate slaughter capacity in the regions and to consider promoting mobile abattoirs, where there are special needs, laying down high standards of hygiene for such abattoirs in order to reduce the risk of infection being transmitted by their staff;

5. Takes the view that livestock rearing and fattening should take place on one and the same farm, provided that that does not lead to an increase in the size of the farm;

6. Calls on the Commission to investigate how far measures taken by local, regional or national authorities unintentionally encourage the transport of animals for consumption;

7. Takes the view that future Member States must be required to take over existing Community veterinary legislation as a condition of becoming a Member State of the EU;

8. Calls on the Commission to devote more resources to encouraging biological forms of stockfarming;

9. Urges the Commission to include animal welfare in general and during transport in particular in the future regulation on biological stockfarming;

10. Calls on the Commission to develop a European quality label for agricultural produce which includes animal welfare;

11. Takes the view that the internalization of external transport costs must form the starting point; transport over long distances by road must be discouraged and transport by train encouraged;

12. Calls on the Commission to discourage long-distance transport of animals by road by setting strict minimum requirements in order to guarantee animal welfare;

MEANS OF TRANSPORT

13. Urges the Commission, pursuant to Article 1(9) of Directive 95/29/EC, to submit forthwith to the Council a proposal for a Directive laying down standards with which means of transport must comply;

14. Considers that:

(a) the standard means of transport must meet the following requirements:

- the maximum angle of the loading ramp must be 20°;

- pigs and calves must be loaded and unloaded with a hydraulic lift;

- ramps should have crosspieces at 12 cm intervals;

- for loading horses, coconut matting, rubber or rubber compound matting may be used instead of crosspieces;

- the interior of the vehicle must be lit during loading;

- the floor of the vehicle must be covered with non-slip material;

- for horses and other livestock, the floor must be covered with a layer of bedding;

(b) means of transport which are exempted from the maximum journey time which applies to normal animal transport vehicles must also be equipped with:

- built-in feeding and watering systems;

- facilities to ensure that the animals are able to lie down;

- partition walls to prevent animals from trampling each other;

- air conditioning or assisted ventilation;

(c) means of transport which spend part of the journey on ferries must be equipped with:

- air conditioning or assisted ventilation;

- a structure on the chassis by means of which the vehicle can be secured;

- adequate supplies of food and water if the total journey time exceeds eight hours;

and calls on the Commission to include these aspects in Article 6 of the Directive referred to above;

15. Calls on the Council, following publication of the Commission proposal referred to above and after consulting the European Parliament, to take a decision on this Directive as quickly as possible;

16. Considers that the total journey time involved in the transport by road of animals intended for slaughter should not exceed eight hours;

17. Takes the view that the total journey time involved in the transport of animals for fattening should not exceed eight hours before a twenty-four hour rest period for feeding and watering until special standards for means of transport are introduced and recognized staging posts established in accordance with the agreed criteria proposed by the Commission;

18. Considers that the time spent in a vehicle on a ferry must be regarded not as a rest period but as travelling time;

STAGING POINTS

19. Urges the Commission, pursuant to Article 1(9) of Directive 95/29/EC, to submit to the Council forthwith the proposal for a Directive laying down the criteria for staging points;

20. Calls on the Council, following publication of the Commission proposal referred to above and after consulting the European Parliament, to take a decision as quickly as possible;

21. Considers it important that the Directive should include provisions that staging points must be equipped in such a way that animals with different levels of health do not come into contact with each other;

22. Takes the view that transport by goods vehicles across external borders should only be authorized if frontier posts are used which are equipped with staging posts; transporters must be obliged to indicate in advance the staging posts they will be using; a stamp issued on the spot will serve as evidence for national authorities that they actually did use the staging post;

ENFORCEMENT AND MONITORING

23. Considers it unacceptable that a number of Member States have not yet transposed Directives 91/628/EEC and 95/29/EC into national law, or have done so only partially, and calls on the Commission to initiate proceedings for non-compliance against these Member States;

24. Condemns the lax attitude of the Member States which show serious shortcomings in the monitoring and implementation of the existing directives;

25. Considers that the Commission has insufficient resources available to identify and rectify this failure;

26. Calls on the Commission to devote more manpower and cash to the monitoring of transport, staging posts and abattoirs; some of the additional one hundred veterinary inspectors recently recruited by the Commission should be allocated to this task; in addition, it would be expedient for part of such monitoring to be carried out by reputable NGOs active in the field of animal welfare;

27. Considers that a transport licence must be renewed every five years, following a careful assessment of the company's operations by the competent authorities;

28. Considers that, for effective enforcement, in the event of repeated infringements the transport licence must be withdrawn from the transporter concerned;

29. Considers that, in addition to the provisions concerning the training of the transporter referred to in Article 1(4) of Directive 95/29/EC, it must also be possible to check that transporters are acquainted with the content of the relevant European Directives;

30. Calls on the Commission to submit by 31 December 1997 at the latest an interim report describing the measures taken, assessing the implementation of the Directives in the Member States and explaining the utilization of the appropriations entered in the budget for this purpose;

31. Calls on the Commission to report on the checks carried out by the bodies or services in the Member States responsible for the enforcement and monitoring of compliance with these Directives, giving an overview of the number of checks carried out, the nature of the infringements and the follow-up action taken;

32. Calls on the Commission to take measures to ensure that staff at border posts are fully aware of the provisions laid down in the European Directives, that they implement these provisions and that they submit reports thereon to the relevant authority responsible;

33. Recognizes that, as far as enforcement and the monitoring of imports from third countries are concerned, this will only work in practice with the cooperation and support of the national authorities of those third countries; urges the Commission, therefore, as a matter of priority to enter into negotiations with the relevant third countries to find mutually agreeable rules and procedures to maintain the highest possible standards throughout the transportation period;

34. Calls on the Commission to establish a single computer database in which all licensed transporters, the details of their vehicles and all committed infringements are registered and which can be accessed directly by all the customs posts at the external frontiers of the Union as well as at the checking points within the Union;

EXPORTS

35. Calls on the Commission to put an end to the granting of export refunds for the export to third countries of live animals intended for consumption;

36. Calls on the Commission to instigate a Europe-wide system under which the granting and/or renewal of export licences is made conditional on transporters' respecting strictly and in full the rules for the protection of live animals for export, as laid down in the European Directives, for the entire length of journeys, with licences being immediately revoked in the event of non-compliance;

37. Calls on the Commission to cooperate closely with the competent authorities in third countries in order to be able to ensure that transporters are in a position to transport animals intended for slaughter in accordance with the European Directives;

IMPORTS

38. Calls on the Commission to do its utmost to persuade the competent authorities in third countries to transport meat to the European Union instead of horses and other live animals;

39. Calls on the Commission to issue import licences only to transporters who have demonstrably transported the animals from the place of origin in accordance with the standards which apply within the European Union;

40. Calls on the Commission to ensure that the circumstances under which transport of animals from third countries takes place are strictly controlled;

41. Calls on the Commission to reach agreement with the competent authorities in third countries on the quality of staging points and other arrangements so that transporters from third countries are enabled to transport the animals in accordance with the European Directives;

42. Calls on the Commission to ensure that if, on arrival at the external frontiers of the European Union, animals are not in good health or their state of health is the subject of legitimate doubt, the animals concerned will be either impounded under veterinary supervision, slaughtered immediately or given an extended rest period, depending on their condition, and that all associated costs shall be borne by the transporter;

RIGHT TO LODGE A COMPLAINT

43. Calls on the Commission to submit proposals to the Council so that European citizens, including the animal protection organizations that monitor the enforcement of the regulations, are granted the right to bring legal proceedings against persons or undertakings which break the law by causing suffering to animals;

44. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the Council, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the International League for the Protection of Horses and the Eurogroup for Animal Welfare.