Revision of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport
19.7.2012
Question for written answer E-007313/2012
to the Commission
Rule 117
Sirpa Pietikäinen (PPE)
The previous two Commissioners responsible for animal welfare, Markos Kyprianou and Androulla Vassiliou, clearly acknowledged the need for a revision of the existing rules on animal transport, in particular as regards transport times and space allowances.
Commissioner Kyprianou said that: ‘In relation to the duration of animal transport, the Commission envisages to propose a revision of the Transport Regulation to the Council and Parliament (…) on travelling times and space allowances for the different species, to bring them into line with the available scientific knowledge.’[1] Commissioner Vasiliou mentioned ‘the possibility of bringing forward (…) a proposal to revise the Animal Transport Regulation (…). This work is focused on maximum travelling times and the space allowed for animals during transport.’[2]
1. On the basis of what new information has the current Commissioner responsible for animal welfare, John Dalli, affirmed — in contrast to the previous two Commissioners — that there is no longer any need for a revision of Regulation (EC) No 1/2005?
2. How can the Commission be satisfied with proposing ‘guides to good practices’ instead of changing the legislation in order to bring it in line with new scientific evidence — bearing in mind that ‘guides to good practices’ are not legally binding and thus not enforceable?
3. Experience over many years has shown that enforcement of the current and previous legislation alone has not led to satisfactory results. The previous two Commissioners have acknowledged this fact. What makes the Commission think that it will now be possible to solve the long-standing problems by means of enforcement alone, without introducing a maximum eight-hour journey limit, as already requested by Parliament and by more than a million EU citizens?
- [1] Joint answer to Written Questions E-6503/07, E-6608/07 and E-6535/07.
- [2] Answer to Written Question E-2067/2008.
OJ C 269 E, 18/09/2013