A call for the recognition of Ireland’s unique island status comes in the wake of recommendations by the Committee of inquiry on animal transport (ANIT) in the European Parliament. These proposals refer to animal welfare during transport, which, according to The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), has the potential to severely impact competitive trade.
Several new restrictions listed in a report by ANIT apply to the transport of certain categories of animals, including (but not limited to) a ban on the transport of calves under five weeks-of-age; a two-hour limit on travel times for unweaned calves above that age; as well as a ban on the transport of in-calf cows in the third trimester.
In the view of IFA Livestock Committee chairperson, Brendan Golden, these amendments are unacceptable and should be rejected by Irish MEPs when voted on in the European Parliament.
Golden adds that Ireland’s island status must also be recognised in any proposals in order to ensure Irish farmers continue to have unfettered access to the EU single market. “Irish farmers support and implement the highest welfare standards in the world, and this includes the strictly controlled transport of animals. Seeking to change the rules because other countries fail to implement them, is not acceptable,” he says.
The IFA contends that the recommendations are based on the outcome of poor enforcement of regulatory requirements in some regions of the EU.
LSL News.