Why Enforcement of Animal Welfare Matters
The consistent enforcement of animal welfare laws is crucial for the well-being of animals. Too often, violations of animal welfare legislation go without consequences.
One thing that unites Europeans is their strong support for animal welfare.
A «Eurobarometer« survey conducted by the Commission found that 9 out of 10 Europeans believe that imported products should comply with EU animal welfare standards. Around three quarters or more support stricter animal welfare regulations.
This guest blog summarises the speech by Philip Lymbery during the European Parliament event on «Enforcement of EU Animal Welfare Legislation» on 7 September 2022.
The European Union (EU) was a world leader in 1997 when it legally recognised animals as sentient beings capable of feeling pain, suffering, or pleasure. Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU stipulates that the needs of animals as sentient beings should be fully taken into account.
To this end, the EU has one of the most comprehensive sets of animal welfare rules in the world.
Without proper enforcement, however, these rules carry little meaning.
Poor Enforcement
A prime example of this is the transport of live animals. Animals suffer greatly during long journeys. Confined in overcrowded trucks, they become increasingly exhausted, dehydrated, and stressed as the journey progresses. Some injure themselves and fall to the floor of the truck, where they risk being trampled by their companions. In the worst cases, many of them die — drowning when ships capsize, or suffering heatstroke when trucks are held up for hours or even days at border crossings.
The export of live animals to non-EU countries must be prohibited, as these long journeys are associated with immeasurable suffering for the animals concerned, and in many cases they endure painful and horrific treatment during slaughter in destination countries where international OIE standards for slaughter welfare are routinely ignored.
In this day and age, long-distance transport of live animals no longer makes any sense. I fully agree with the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe that «animals should be raised as close as possible to the place where they were born, and slaughtered as close as possible to the place of production«.
Disasters
The reality, however, is that every year more than three million live animals are exported from the EU to third countries for fattening and slaughter. The transport conditions on trucks and ships are often unbearable and cause the animals tremendous suffering during journeys lasting days, weeks, or even months. It is not uncommon for some of them to perish during transport.
In the worst disasters, thousands die.
In 2019, more than 14’000 sheep destined for export drowned when the cargo ship carrying them capsized in the Romanian Black Sea port of Midia.
And last year, more than 2,600 calves due to be exported from Spain died after drifting at sea for three months because no country would accept them due to a suspected disease outbreak.
Over the years, countless petitions and protests from citizens and non-governmental organizations have called on the EU to put an end to the horror show of live exports. They are backed by numerous scientific recommendations advising against the continuation of this cruel practice.
Yet the practice continues. When domestic transports within the EU are included, the problem grows to more than 1.6 billion live animals per year being transported within and across the borders of the EU.
Long-distance transport of live animals should really be a thing of the past, replaced by trade in carcasses transported in refrigerated trucks.
As long as this archaic trade continues to exist, however, it should be rigorously enforced. Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport contains a comprehensive set of rules that provides basic protection for the animals involved in this trade.
Police Enforcement
The Commission's report makes it abundantly clear that neither exporters nor the authorities of the Member States adequately take into account the welfare of animals during sea transport.
That must change.
One key way for the EU to demonstrate to its citizens that it is truly serious about enforcing its own legislation is to establish dedicated police units — trained officers who ensure that citizens' concerns about animal welfare are translated into concrete action on the ground.
In this way, a great deal of animal suffering can be prevented.
All of this would also benefit society as a whole.
At the level of EU and international policy, there is growing recognition that protecting people also means protecting animals — a concept known as «One Health» – the growing understanding that human health depends on the well-being of animals and a thriving natural environment.
By enforcing legislation, the EU can once again take a global leadership role in animal welfare. It can give groundbreaking priority to the evidence that the health of us all is interconnected. One health, one well-being – protecting people means protecting animals too. With dedicated police units at the forefront of enforcement, we would have the means to create a better future for people and animals throughout the European Union and beyond.
