Animal carriage alert
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by Juliet Parish • Livestock hauliers face a crackdown on breaches of animal welfare rules from local authorities. It follows the release of a video by an animal rights group which shows drivers brutally handlingcattle and sheep as they are loaded and unloaded from trucks.
Animal Aid alleges that some drivers are routinely breaking The Welfare at Markets Order 1990, which is the main legislation governing the treatment of livestock at markets. The Ministry of Agriculture has asked local authorities to examine Animal Aid's claims. These include sheep being dragged out of a truck by a single back leg,
flung dow-n on to concrete and, in one instance, kicked upright.
But the charity says that in most cases it is market staff who are mishandling animals; it is calling on drivers to report such incidents.
C A local authority group wants the Government to tighten up the rules requiring open-topped livestock vehi des to be covered. The National Animal Health and Welfare Panel wants permanent roofs to replace the tarpaulins it says many operators are using. It also accuses several hauliers of ignoring the new law, by claiming an exemption for journeys under 50km between farms where the truck's livestock compartment is shorter than 3.1m. This loophole has yet to be tested in court.