Peter
Viggers, MP for the Gosport constituency, has today called
for assurances that proposed European legislation will be
enforced to ensure the welfare of livestock in transit.
Parliamentary
European Standing Committee ‘A’,
of which Peter is a member, today gave consideration to legislation
proposed by the Irish president of the European Commission,
which would introduce new measures designed to ensure the
well-being of animals in transit.
The new legislation would ensure, amongst other things,
that animals were transported in conditions with adequate
ventilation, and that rest stops were made throughout journeys.
One new measure will be the introduction of satellite monitoring
to ensure that these stops for rest, feed, etc. are made.
Mr Viggers said
today, “The UK already has an excellent
record in maintaining high standards for the transportation
of animals. However, the Minister for Nature Conservation
and Fisheries, Ben Bradshaw MP, confirmed today that the
record of some of our European Union colleagues is patchy,
and some are in fact very poor.
“There is
already a perception that in many cases of EU legislation,
the UK conforms whilst other countries
do not. I have asked the Minister for details of procedures
to be put into place to ensure that the regulations will
be imposed correctly and fairly across the EU, and that it
will be the responsibility of the EU to monitor compliance
with the regulations.
“The new
regulations are not as tight as I would wish. However,
the feeling is that this may be the only opportunity
to introduce more controls for some years, and that the Irish
proposals are as good as we can achieve at this time. A further
ten countries will shortly be joining the EU, and most of
these are not likely to have effective controls on how animals
are transported. It is hoped that the new legislation will
help to improve this situation.
“The Minister
has agreed to write to me with details of how the new legislation
will be policed.”
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