The food minister Dan Jørgensen has signed a joint declaration with his Dutch and German colleagues that aims to pressure the EU Commission into implementing tougher animal welfare demands.
The three nations have agreed to work towards better welfare for pigs, shorter animal transport times, a European ban on the beak trimming of egg-laying chickens and the establishment of a European forum dedicated to the promotion of animal welfare.
”The welfare of animals must improve across the whole of Europe,” Jørgensen said in a press release.
”So I am pleased that three large European agricultural nations have agreed that animal welfare should be drastically improved. We encourage everyone to support the declaration when we tomorrow press the commission into taking animal welfare seriously and halting all long animal transport journeys.”
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Less transport time
Aside from short transport journeys, the three countries also want the transport vehicles to have increased space and better conditions in regards to inside height.
The goal of the declaration is to make the EU Commission propose a revision of the regulation that protects animals during transport with a view to restricting the maximum transport journey time for animals that will be slaughtered.
The nations will also work together to get the commission to set up an official forum for animal welfare where lawmakers, experts and representatives from industry sectors will be able to cite experiences and information concerning animal welfare.
