TIR calls for a ban on animal transports to high-risk animal welfare countries
Time and again, horrific images of unsustainable conditions during international animal transports reach the public. Most recently, 69 heavily pregnant cattle from Germany died or were senselessly killed at the Turkish border in unimaginable agony, for bureaucratic reasons. The Foundation for the Animal in the Law (TIR) draws attention to the urgent need to revise the EU regulations on animal transport.
December 16, 2024
What happened to 69 cattle at the Turkish border in September and October 2024 cannot be adequately put into words. A ZDF documentary reveals immense animal suffering. This is the result of a system that promotes and even systematically subsidises the transport of live animals across Europe for purely economic reasons. Despite existing transport regulations, serious abuses regularly occur in which the animals concerned suffer massively (see TIR-news report of 23 February 2024).
The problem is widespread worldwide. But Europe in particular wants to play a pioneering role in animal welfare. Nevertheless, every year billions of live animals are transported by road, sea, rail or air within, into or out of the EU for rearing, fattening, slaughter or other purposes (see the European Court of Auditors' analysis). Transport to so-called high-risk animal welfare countries, where animal welfare standards are largely unknown, proves to be particularly critical. The legally permitted transport times are regularly exceeded in this context, and there are often long waiting times at external EU borders and customs ports due to clearance problems. Outside the EU, there is a lack of suitable inspection and supply stations for the animals. Transport planning is often inadequate and emergency plans for crisis situations are completely lacking. Animals suffer from extreme weather conditions, inadequate care and sometimes catastrophic hygiene conditions.
This repeatedly leads to cruel animal abuse, which is hardly controlled, let alone sanctioned, due to inconsistent enforcement of regulations and different sanctioning practices in the EU member states.
In view of the serious shortcomings of animal transport, TIR is campaigning for a comprehensive reform of transport practices. The overarching aim is to prioritise ethical responsibility towards animals and to respect their dignity as sentient beings. The demands centre on stricter regulation, in particular a ban on transports to high-risk animal welfare countries. The TIR is also pushing for a significant restriction of long-distance transport and the use of regional slaughterhouses for meat production.
In order to ensure compliance with these measures, the legal basis must be tightened and controls expanded. To this end, the TIR has written to Cem Özdemir, Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture in Germany, and to Stella Kyriakides, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. In doing so, she is supporting the ongoing efforts at EU level to fundamentally revise the legislation on animal transport. A solution can only be achieved by fundamentally rethinking the way we treat so-called farm animals: away from viewing animals as commodities and towards a perspective that places their dignity and welfare at the centre.
Further information:
- ZDF-documentation (in German) "Tiertransporte: Gefangen zwischen Grenzen" (Caution: disturbing images)
- Letter from TIR dated 27 November 2024 to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Berlin (in German)
- Letter from TIR dated 27 November 2024 to the Commissioner Health and Food Safety in Brussels (in German)
- Transport of live animals in the EU: challenges and opportunities, European Court of Auditors, Analysis 03/2023