The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has called for an EU-level IT system to track all live animal journeys, including domestic transport, to improve monitoring.
In a review published yesterday (Monday, April 17), the ECA said that cameras and sensors could also be used to measure animal welfare standards.
Auditors said that data on the transport of live animals in the EU is fragmented and the European Commission does not have a full and centralised overview.
The ECA said that this review provides an opportunity to contribute to the debate on animal transport as part of the revision of the EU’s animal welfare legislation.
The EU Commission intends to propose revised animal welfare rules by the end of the year.
Live animal journeys
Each year, billions of live animals are transported by road, sea, rail and air within, and to and from the EU, for breeding, fattening or slaughter.
The review said that over one third of these live animal journeys last more than eight hours and welfare standards are not always upheld.
“Transporting live animals over long distances can have harmful consequences on their welfare,” Eva Lindstrom, the ECA member in charge of the review, said.
“EU animal transport legislation is not evenly enforced by member states, and there is a risk that transporters could exploit loopholes that derive from the different national sanctions systems.”
In the review, the auditors stress that negative impact of transport on animal welfare could be mitigated by reducing the number and length of journeys and improving conditions for animals during transport.
They also suggest promoting the transport of meat rather than live animals, and the use of local and mobile slaughterhouses.
The auditors recommend assigning a monetary value to animal suffering and taking account of this in the cost of transport and in the price of meat.
The auditors said this could be an opportunity to introduce incentive systems, encouraging transport companies to prevent animal welfare problems.
Review
The review said that providing consumers with better information would help them make informed purchase choices.
This could be done through an EU animal welfare labelling system, which would bring more transparency and harmonise meat labelling across the bloc.
“Ultimately, the new rules could be an opportunity to promote structural changes in moving towards a more sustainable food supply,” the ECA said.
According to available data, 63 % of animal transport between 2017 and 2021 comprised short journeys of up to eight hours, followed by long journeys (33%) and very long journeys of over 24 hours (4%).