The Committee of Inquiry set up to investigate alleged contraventions in the application of Union law in relation to the protection of animals during transport and related operations within and outside the EU (ANIT Committee) submitted its final report in December. In particular, the report calls for stricter rules on transport and rest periods. It also calls for the development of mobile slaughterhouses in order to eliminate, as far as possible, the need to transport live animals.

Our aim with the farm-to-fork strategy is to make the entire EU food system more sustainable. Decentralised and mobile slaughterhouses could help achieve this. Mobile slaughterhouses would also make it unnecessary to transport live animals.

With the above in mind, I have the following questions about mobile slaughterhouses:

1. Are mobile slaughterhouses permitted under EU law, and if so, under what conditions?

2. Can mobile slaughterhouses receive financial support under an EU funding programme?

3. In the Commission’s view, would it be possible to launch a pilot project in this area?