World Horse Welfare Welcomes EU Parliament’s Overwhelming Support For Shorter Journey Times For Horses Transported To Slaughter

World Horse Welfare today welcomed the European Parliament’s landslide vote in favour of a report calling for improved conditions for the live transport of animals for slaughter, including short, maximum journey limits for horses in line with scientific opinion. The vote of 555 for and 56 against will put more pressure on the European Commission which has so far sought not to review current legislation which allows 65,000 horses each year to be transported for what can be days on end in appalling conditions with little food, water or rest. World Horse Welfare has been campaigning for a short, maximum journey limit of 9-12 hours for these horses in light of scientific evidence showing horses suffer on longer journeys. A limit of 12 hours was recommended by the Commission’s own scientific advisors, the European Food Safety Authority. However, despite acknowledging that ‘severe animal welfare problems persist,’ and that current live transport laws are out of step with the scientific opinion they claim should inform their policies, the Commission has been reluctant to act. Instead, they believe that improved enforcement will address the welfare problems despite the current legislation being considered by the charity as ‘largely unenforceable’. Responding to the debate in Parliament yesterday, new EU Commissioner for Health Tonio Borg hinted that a review of the transport laws might be in the distant horizon should enforcement ‘not work.’ According to Hannah Lynch, World Horse Welfare campaigns officer for policy and public affairs: “We’re delighted that the Parliament has chosen to welcome Commissioner Borg to his new role by adopting this report. It sends a strong signal that the Parliament, like European citizens, understands that the inadequate Transport Regulation needs to change. “Commissioner Borg, speaking at the debate which preceded the vote, said that ‘enforcement is not the final stop of the journey’ and that if enforcement does not work, the Commission will have to reconsider their position. “We are very clear: enforcement of the current Regulation cannot solve all of the welfare problems that we see, because the Regulation itself does not go far enough to protect horse welfare”, Lynch continued. “We hope that Commissioner Borg will realise this soon, and will indeed revisit his plans and begin the process of proposing changes to the Regulation. We look forward to working with him to update this inadequate policy.”

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