Livestock transport rules based on 'ideological fantasies'

Defra's new livestock transport proposals show Ministers have opted for 'ideological fantasies' instead of practical welfare measures, Richard Griffiths, chief executive of the British Poultry Council, has said. His comment came after the Government responded to consultation feedback on livestock journeys, announcing it would introduce shorter maximum transport times for live animals, of between four and 24 hours depending on species, more headroom and stricter rules on transporting animals in extreme temperatures for all journeys over 65km in England and Wales. It will also legislate the ban of live animal exports for slaughtering and fattening, with the exemption of poultry exports. Mr Griffiths said the domestic transportation proposals would create an extremely difficult environment for poultry producers to operate in and could establish a two-tier food system. "It is a real shame that the poultry industry has not been listened to, given that we already operate world class welfare practices in transporting birds," he said. "The proposed journey times, despite the exclusion of vehicle loading and unloading, in combination with the temperature requirements, would be a significant blow to the sector and a lot of producers are going to be disappointed by these proposals." Defra has, however, has acted on some industry advice, removing its proposed restrictions on sea transport in certain weather conditions for domestic journeys and the lower temperature restrictions on livestock transport for short journeys. While pleased Defra had made some changes to its initial proposals, Stuart Roberts, NFU deputy president, was disappointed that other measures were not more meaningfully welfare-focused, utilising driver training and experience. Frustrated "We are frustrated that our proposal for a live export assurance scheme has been overlooked, which would have ensured UK rules on transport and processing would have followed animals to other countries," Mr Roberts said. "We believe basing a transport ban purely on its purpose, in this case for slaughter, is not logical given that farmers and transporters have an inherent interest in ensuring all journeys meaningfully protect welfare at all stages and types of movement." Phil Stocker, chief executive of the National Sheep Association, highlighted his frustration at the lack of discussion about alternatives to a live exports ban and said the sector had not reached a point where it was confident the proposal outcomes will be as practical as they need to be.But he remained cautiously optimistic that the Government is committed to working with the industry on the proposals as further details are worked out. The Government's response to its 12-week consultation back in December can be accessed here. Summary of domestic animal transportation proposals (Source: Defra) Subject to 'further work' with industry, Defra proposes to introduce new headroom allowances of 10cm above head height for pigs and 20cm above head height for all other animals. Maximum journey times: four hours for broiler chickens (excluding vehicle loading and unloading), nine hours for calves up to the age of nine months, 12 hours for newly weaned pigs and horses, 18 hours for pigs, 24 hours for recently hatched chicks, cattle, sheep and all other animals (with further work with industry on how these relate to markets and collection centres). For poultry journeys more than 65km, Defra proposes to introduce the external temperature range of 5°C to 25oC. For livestock and horses journeys more than 65km, Defra proposes to prohibit short journeys of less than eight hours where the external temperature is above 30°C. Long journeys of over 8 hours would be prohibited where the external temperature is outside of 0 to 25°C.