Transport of live animals in Europe:It's time to take action to stop the cruelty

After investigations by Animal Equality and other organisations, complaints and requests from citizens, it is time for Europe to act to stop animal abuse during transport.

Huddled together, forced onto dirty litter and exposed to cold and heat, all this for hours, days or even weeks.These are the conditions to which millions are subjected transported animals every year by sea, to slaughterhouses or farms that are hundreds of kilometers away from their places of origin.

Transport of live animals:violence and abuse

From 2020 Animal Equality has released videos and reports on the export of live animals by sea from Spain to non-EU countries, highlighting serious and systematic violations of the European regulation relating to the protection of animals during their transport by the Spanish authorities.We documented violence and abuse operators on thousands of lambs and cattle loaded onto ships departing from the Spanish ports of Tarragona and Cartagena.Cruelty that reached its peak in the cases of ships Elbeik And Karim Allah, who after leaving the port of Cartagena wandered at sea for months, a hellish journey which ended with the killing of all the animals, a decision taken due to the very bad state of health in which the cattle were found after the conditions to which they were forced on board the ships.In light of these violations in November 2021 Animal Equality ed Enpa have submitted a joint complaint to the European Commission to initiate an infringement procedure against the Spanish State and other Member States of the Union for violation of the regulation on the welfare of animals transported alive.Not only that, Animal Equality has also launched a petition on the European Parliament website to ask the institutions to take any action deemed appropriate to ensure compliance with European legislation on the protection of animals during their transport.

A few days ago an audition was held at the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament in which Animal Equality and Enpa expressed regret for the lack of incisive interventions by the European Commission almost a year after the presentation of the complaint and the petition.Following the hearing, the Petitions Committee of the EU Parliament decided to keep the petition against Spain open, which can thus continue to gather the support of the many European citizens opposed to the cruelty of the transport of live animals.Animal Equality has also asked the European Commission to intervene promptly to prosecute the violations reported for some time by Italian and European animal rights associations.The commitment of the institutions to put an end to this cruel practice, in fact, has not so far been maintained and the concrete interventions from the European Union are slow in arriving despite the European Commission having admitted that there are serious critical issues regarding animal transport in Europe.

The review of transport regulation, which the European Commission will have to deal with in autumn 2023, will be a decisive opportunity not to waste any further time and to finally act to stop the extreme suffering of millions of animals by concretely intervening on an obsolete and cruel practice where controls do not work as they should.