The Polish government agrees with the EC on the request to guarantee better welfare of animals in transport, but points out that higher transport costs will burden farmers – told the manager of the Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs at MRIRW Wojciech Wojtyra on Tuesday. The consultation on the task was attended by representatives of agricultural organizations, as well as...the defenders of the alleged animal rights, with the second demanding even more stringent solutions.
At the Tuesday gathering of the subcommittee on animal welfare and animal production in Poland and the fight against infectious diseases of animals, Wojciech Wojtyra, manager of the Ministry of Agriculture and agrarian Development, presented information on the EU proposal for a regulation on animal transport and the Polish government's position on this matter.
Wojtyra reported that the draft position of the Polish government for the draft EU regulation was adopted on 1 March 2024. He pointed out that the government shared an opinion on the request to guarantee better animal welfare in transport.
"The Council of Ministers mostly welcomed the proposal submitted, but indicated that any of the provisions of the draft regulation seem besides ambitious or besides hard to apply or enforce, and so further work on this regulation is needed in order to make optimal solutions for all associate States," said Wojtira.
He stressed that "the Council of Ministers besides expressed concern that higher transport costs resulting from higher requirements would be transferred to farmers, which would reduce the cost-effectiveness of production and lead to lower price availability of products of animal origin for consumers".
In December 2023, the EC published proposals for a fresh regulation on the protection of animals during transport. "This is 1 of the elements of the EC's implementation of commitments in the context of the 'From Field to Table' strategy, where the Commission has committed itself to reviewing all animal welfare legislation," explained the Director.
The EU task will reduce the maximum transport time for animals for slaughter to 9 hours and for another animals to 21 hours (with at least 1 hr remainder after 10 hours). During rest, animals must be fed and watered. There is besides to be a change in the available surface during transport depending on the weight and species of the animal, as well as the regulation of the transport temperature, according to Wojtyra.
The Ministry of Agriculture, following the presentation of this project, conducted extended consultations with, among others, agricultural organisations, but besides with animal protection organisations. Farmers and farmers' unions submitted to this task “out of 100 pages of comments”, and after a reasonably brief review by the Ministry, as Wojtyra said, “they do not seem to be reconciled”. In turn, "animal defenders" request further tightening of the provisions of this EU Regulation.
PAP
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