2024-01-09 05:31:13
Protecting animal welfare is “essential” for more than eight in ten Europeans, results of a Eurobarometer survey show.
84% of Europeans believe that the welfare of farm animals should be protected better in their country than now, and a similar number (83%) support limiting the transportation time of animals.
In the case of Spain, the figures are similar to the EU average, since 80% of those surveyed consider that farm animals should be protected “better”, 83% believe that they should limit the travel time of live animalsand 74% also consider that pets should be protected more, according to a note from the efeverde.com portal
More than 90% of Europeans believe that agricultural and breeding practices should comply with “basic ethical requirements”, such as offering animals enough space, food and water, environments adapted to their needs (mud, straw, etc.) and ensuring “proper management”. (Read in WITHlivestock context: Animal welfare, the best ally of livestock production)
The Eurobarometer also showed a high level of concern regarding the animal welfare in slaughterhousesas three-quarters of respondents considered the practice of killing male chicks following birth “unacceptable.”
For their part, in Spain, 87% of those surveyed showed high concern for animals in slaughterhouses, only one point different from the EU average (88%).
With regards to the food imports Coming from non-EU countries, 84% of Europeans believe that the current situation for animals “should change”, either by applying EU animal welfare standards to food imports or by labeling food according to applied standards. (Read in WITHlivestock context: 7 important aspects of Animal Welfare)
60% of respondents indicated that they would be willing to pay more for products from animal-friendly agricultural systems.
New legislation
On December 7, the European Commission (EC) proposed new legislation to improve animal transport conditions in the European Union and represents the largest European reform in the area of animal welfare in the last two decades and will affect the 1.6 million animals that are transported in the EU each year.
In the area of animal transport, Brussels focuses on tightening the conditions under which movement can occur in terms of temperature, duration of the trip or condition of the vehicle, criteria that will also depend on the species being transferred and will be adapted for unweaned calves, pregnant females and hens at the end of their production cycle. (Read in WITHlivestock context: Follow good practices for transporting livestock in Colombia)
In general, transport may only be possible at night if temperatures exceed 30ºC; When they are below 0ºC, road transport vehicles will have to be covered and there will be a air circulation control in the compartment in which the animals travel. In the event that the temperature drops below -5ºC, the trip may not last more than nine hours.
These standards, which will apply to pigs, cows, goats, sheep, chickens, chickens, rabbits and horses, also provide that for most animals trips last a maximum of 21 hours with at least one hour of rest following ten hours; After this period, the animals must be able to rest for 24 hours outside the vehicle with water and food. For animals destined for slaughter, the maximum trip will be nine hours.
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