After a long battle with his coalition partner, Minister of Animal Welfare Johannes Rauch has prevailed and is now presenting a new regulation for animal transport for Austria. The ‘Krone’ welcomes the stricter guidelines and sees our country as a pioneer.
The suffering and misery that goes hand in hand with animal transport is hard to describe. This summer, countless vans were stopped and complained about on our highways. Animal rights activists have long wanted to put an end to ‘suffering on wheels’, but the road to get there is difficult.
The new regulation of the Minister of Animal Welfare can be seen as a step-by-step victory, because the stricter regulations that are now coming will bring about numerous improvements.
Thus, regular feeding and constant water availability are arranged so that there are finally no more loopholes. Pig transport trucks equipped with cattle troughs from which the animals cannot drink water were repeatedly checked. In the same way, cattle cannot drink from the small water nipple on pig trucks.
As a result, thousands of animals had to go for hours without water in the extreme heat – and that is finally over. In the future, it will not be enough that the truck is equipped with a water supply; eventually it will be checked whether it is the right one.
Furthermore, transports may only take place at outside temperatures between 5 and 30 degrees, otherwise the truck must be equipped with air conditioning. Compliance with the regulations must be documented with photos and videos. “Animals are not commodities. They are sentient beings. We are now creating even stricter standards for animal welfare,” emphasizes Minister of Animal Welfare Johannes Rauch. “We are also making strict controls possible during transport on ships.”
Brussels decides
Thomas Waitz, MEP and Green negotiator for the EU regulation on animal transport, which is currently underway, sees the Austrian initiative as a major step forward for animal welfare on Austrian roads and a huge opportunity for Europe: “Austria shows how it can be done. And now it is up to Brussels to finally implement this regulation across the EU,” says Maggie Entenfellner, head of Krone’s animal division, who has been campaigning for improvements in animal transport for years.
Horrible death in the Middle East
Tobias Giesinger from the research platform “The Marker” probably also made a significant contribution to this improvement. His research clearly showed that Austrian cattle and calves were transported to the Middle East under the most miserable conditions. “If this new regulation were actually monitored, it would mean the end of the export of pregnant cattle to Algeria. Because the infrastructure on site absolutely does not meet European standards,” says the discoverer.
“An important next step has been taken, but millions of animals will probably still have to suffer until stricter rules are finally introduced across Europe. And it remains to be hoped that the future government in Austria will consistently implement this animal welfare achievement,” says Maggie Entenfellner.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
