2017/0386/NL
EC/EFTA
NL Pays-Bas
  • C00A - AGRICULTURE, PECHE ET DENREES ALIMENTAIRES
2017-11-20
2017-08-22
Minimum standards for height and loading density in vehicles used to transport bovine or other animals

Policy Guideline No WJZ/14121735 of the State Secretary for Economic Affairs of [date] [month] [year] amending the Animal Welfare Policy Guideline 2009 in respect of the amendment to the standards for height and loading density when transporting certain animal species

This policy guideline concerns the determination of minimum standards for the height of spaces and for the loading density in vehicles used to transport bovine or other animals. The standards will be applied in the supervision of compliance with Article 3(g) in conjunction with Annex I, Chapter VII of Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations and amending Directives 64/432/EEC and 93/119/EC and Regulation (EC) No 1255/97. This Regulation requires that animals should have sufficient space and height within the transport vehicle.

With respect to the requirement of sufficient floor area, Chapter VII of Annex I of the aforementioned Regulation contains tables that specify the minimum space expressed in m2 per animal for various animal species, subdivided into a number of categories. Both the wording of the relevant provision in the Regulation (Article 3(g)) and that of Annex I, Chapter VII of the Regulation offer scope for various interpretations of the amount of space that should be deemed sufficient. In practice, applying the abstract surface area standard to transports of bovine animals and pigs often leads to problems. In order to provide transport operators with clear information and to provide the supervisory bodies with guidance for assessments against the abstract standard and the table in the Transport Regulation in the transport of bovine animals and pigs, the proposed measure includes a formula that, combined with the tare weight of the transport vehicle and the weight of the animals loaded onto it, results in a standard for the average available surface area per animal, taking account of their size and weight. This formula has been based on the EFSA Report of 2011, which gives more detail on the minimum surface area for animals during transport. It is explained that for each animal an allometric formula could be used to calculate the minimum amount of space that should be available.

With respect to the requirement of sufficient height as referred to in Article 3(g) of the Regulation, the regulation does not include detailed rules. To ensure that bovine animals have sufficient height and their natural movement is not impeded, a minimum height of 20 cm above the withers of the bovine animal is considered appropriate.

The standards in the policy guideline further specify the requirement in the Regulation that animals should have sufficient available floor area and height in relation to their size and the proposed transport. The policy guideline details the criteria for sufficient height and sufficient floor area. If these standards are not observed, enforcement action may be taken unless it is demonstrated for the particular case that animal welfare is assured even with less height and/or less available floor area.