Indecent exposure
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OFFFICIALS at the EEC Commission are studying ways of tightening Common Market rules covering the transport of live animals.
The issue has been raised in Brussels after publication of a report in a British Sunday newspaper about the alleged suffering of 10,000 chickens which were said to have been found dead on arrival in Italy aboard two Dutch lorries.
The report claimed they were tightly packed in small cages aboard the lorries and poorly protected against icy weather conditions.
A British member of the European Parliament, Michael Welsh (Lancashire Central), asked for a review of the regulations to ensure they conform "to a minimum standard of humanity".
An EEC directive on the protection of animals during international transport was issued in 1977. Its provisions may now be made tougher.