WRITTEN QUESTION E-0239/01 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Exotic animal species: inadvertent increase in transport time and higher death rate.
Date: 2001-02-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Netherlands, animal life, domestic animal, import, protection of animals, transport of animals, veterinary inspection

C 261 E/70

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.9.2001

The Council agrees with these views and does not see fit to comment further.

As for the last question of the Honourable Member,
it is clear that the complete truth about what
happened in Racak will be established, by ICTY, after careful investigation and on the basis of all elements
including the forensic expert(cid:146)s report. Only ICTY can judge the circumstances of and
at its disposal,
responsibility for this atrocious episode of recent European history.

(2001/C 261 E/072)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0238/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(7 February 2001)

Subject: Exotic animal species: closure of Netherlands borders to imports from outside Europe

1.
Is the Commission aware of the growing demand for monkeys, large parrots, song birds, iguanas,
tortoises, snakes and salt-water fishes from outside Europe by persons intending to keep such animals as
household pets?

2.
Is the Commission aware that the KLM airline has refused, since the shredding of 440 striped
Chinese squirrels in 1999, to transport any more exotic species, and that this is one of the reasons why the
(cid:145)Aeroground Services(cid:146) firm based at Schiphol airport went out of business on 1 January 2001.

3.
Is the Commission further aware that the Netherlands government department responsible for testing
livestock and meat products ceased, as of 2001, to monitor animal welfare and the spread of diseases, but
is responsible for the temporary reception of animals and their return to a destination outside the
European Union at the importers(cid:146) expense?

4.
Is it true, as claimed by the Netherlands (cid:145)Dibevo(cid:146) animal trading organisation that European rules
require Member States each to operate at least one testing centre for their home territory, and does the
Netherlands no longer comply with that requirement now that intercontinental access via Schiphol has
been discontinued, although the external-boundary inspection centre at the Maastricht-Aachen regional
airport is being maintained?

5.
Has the Commission now received a request from the Netherlands government for a procedure to be
initiated withdrawing recognition of Schiphol as an external-boundary inspection centre for the purpose of
importing exotic species?

(2001/C 261 E/073)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0239/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(7 February 2001)

Subject: Exotic animal species: inadvertent increase in transport time and higher death rate

1.
Is the Commission familiar with reports to the effect that action by the Netherlands government
aimed at saving exotic animals from poor survival prospects during transportation and intolerable living
conditions thereafter can easily be evaded because no customs inspections are carried out at internal
borders?

2.
How does the Commission assess the report than Netherlands animal dealers are now importing
exotic species through the Brussels and Frankfurt airports and then further transporting them over land,
with the result that the animals have to be overloaded, the journey now takes twice as long, and many
more animals are dying during transportation than hitherto?

18.9.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 261 E/71

Have more or less stringent requirements been imposed in practice on the trade in and admission of
3.
exotic species in the other 14 European Union Member States than in the Netherlands to the end of 2000?
Are there important differences between Member States in the matter of transportation, inspection and
admission as domestic pets?

How many of the 280 external-border inspection centres in the European Union Member States are

4.
empowered to investigate and authorise the importing of exotic species?

Is the Commission aware of ways and means whereby the practice of combining lawful imports into
5.
one Member State with forwarding free of checks to another could be restricted? What arrangements
already exist in that connection?

(2001/C 261 E/074)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0240/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(7 February 2001)

Subject: Exotic animal species: removing animals unsuitable as domestic pets from the European market

1.
Can the European Commission produce figures confirming that imports of exotic animal species
have risen in recent years? Which Member States are major players in this growing import trade, and
which display a low or even a falling trend in such imports?

2.
Does the Commission agree that the practice of keeping exotic animals as pets must not only be
controlled but must also be firmly discouraged, both because such animals face poor survival prospects in
what is for them an unnatural environment, and because some such animals living in captivity pose a
threat to humans and other animals in the vicinity if they manage to escape?

Is the Commission aware of any effective means whereby the national authorities in the Member
the entry of exotic animal species without coming into conflict with existing

3.
States could prevent
European Union rules? What options are available to the Commission and which ones does it rule out?

4. Will the Commission act to ensure that imports of exotic animals other than for delivery to zoos or
for use in scientific research will be intercepted at the European Union(cid:146)s external borders or be made
subject to stringent restrictions?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-0238/01, E-0239/01 and E-0240/01
given by Mrs Wallstr(cid:246)m on behalf of the Commission

(19 April 2001)

The introduction into the Community of endangered species of wild fauna and flora is subject to Council
Regulation (EC) No 338/97 (1) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 939/97 (2) on the implementation of
the Council Regulation.

Under Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 338/97 Member States have indicated places of introduction into
and export from the Community (3).

The Dutch authorities have indicated the following places of introduction and export of live animals
covered by this Regulation:

(cid:129) Schiphol-Gebouw Cargocentre, Handelskade 130;

(cid:129) Schiphol-Gebouw WTC, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol;