Denmark wants permanent solution for the control of animal transport
An evaluation by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration shows that animal welfare has improved after the control of pig transport was temporarily sharpened in 2018. Now the Minister of Food, Mogens Jensen, will make a permanent solution for the control of animal transport, informs the Ministry in a press release.
"As the chances of being controlled have increased, it has forced the profession to have a greater focus on adhering to the rules and ensuring good animal welfare. But that being said, we still see too many violations. The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration continues to find violations of basic animal welfare, and I as Minister will not accept that", says Mogens Jensen.
When the control was tightened by the then government in 2018, it was part of the agreement that the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration should control every 10 of all transports that carry pigs out of Denmark. As a result, 250 checks on the conditions of the trucks had to be carried out each month when the pigs boarded. Prior to the tightening, less than 10 monthly checks of this type were planned.
It was also part of the agreement that the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration's veterinarians had a better time to see if the animals, for example, had injuries that made them unsuitable for the truck trip. For example, it may be hernia or if the pigs are limping. In the evaluation, the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration assesses that the increased control has made farmers better at leaving non-transported pigs in the stable.
The Minister of Food and Agriculture has previously chosen to continue tightening control into 2020, although the previous government's political agreement was a temporary tightening until the end of 2019. Now, minister Jensen will then sit at the table end and negotiate a lasting expansion and extra effort targeting specific problem areas. and companies with poor regulatory compliance in place.
"Overall, we can conclude that the previous government's temporary tightening has had some positive effects, but we are not yet on target. I therefore call on the parties in the Danish Parliament to negotiate a new control concept that will ensure better animal welfare for the many animals that are transported every year from the Danish farms," added Mogens Jensen.
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