We demand an end for cruel live transports by road and sea
EU Animal Transports
Animal transports in the European Union
Millions of animals are being transported within the EU for breeding, fattening and slaughtering every day. In order to regulate the standards for live transports across Europe, the Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport has been applied since 2007. It is legally binding to all member states in the European Union, however, it is the lowest common denominator the member states could agree on.
The space that is required by law is too small and the transport duration is too long. Young, and unweaned animals are allowed to be transported for up to 19 hours, pigs and horses up to 24 hours and cattle, sheep and goats up to 29 hours, provided that they are being unloaded for at least 24 hour resting period afterwards. However, for some species such as poultry or rabbits, there are no transport time restrictions (except for chicks within 72 hours after hatching).
Problems of animal transports within the European Union
The Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 does not include a general ban on animal transports lasting days or weeks. The resting and transportation intervals can be continued endlessly. Therefore, animals are being transported over many thousands of kilometres and through different climatic zones.
Even the low legal requirements are often ignored. The animals suffer especially from:
- heat and cold stress,
- not having enough space to stand or lie down in a natural position,
- the lack of feed or water to sufficiently meet their needs.
The implementation of legal requirements and the sanctioning of violations varies widely across different EU member states. This circumstance creates "loopholes" that are being exploited to avoid strict measures. It starts with the approval of transport vehicles and continues with the permission of cruel transport conditions. Animal transports are a business that more and more companies are entering without any experience of handling animals. It is a downward spiral.
What we are doing
We have been working on the topic of long-distance transports of animals for years with a focus on live exports to EU third countries and transports of unweaned animals.
We are offering trainings for police officers and official veterinarians in several member states in order to improve the quality of animal transport inspections.
Together with our umbrella organisation, Eurogroup for Animals, we are calling for an end of long-distance transport of animals.
How you can get involved
Support our teams with your donation:
Donate kilometres for our investigations
Stay informed about our work:
Sign up for our newsletter