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JOURNEY'S

5th December 2002
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Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

The EU aims to curb livestock transport by capping journey times. Do these measures herald the end of international livestock transport as we know it Debbie Cowan reports.

Once again animal welfare has become a political hot potato, with the European Commission proposing tough new rules governing the transport of livestock. Few hauliers could read the proposals without concluding that the EC would like to see the back of this trade, and with it the operators who make a living transporting animals over long distances.

What's behind this new move? According to a spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEF RA), the EC simply feels that animal welfare has not been taken as seriously as it should have been: "Over the past to years the European Union has adopted a comprehensive set of legislation on the protection of animals during transport. In December 2000 the Commission transmitted a report to the Council of Ministers and to the European Parliament showing that member state authorities had given low priority to the enforcement of animal protection legislation."

Transport environment

The issue was duly discussed in the European Parliament; it was raised again during the Agriculture Council of June 2001 and September 2002. Then in March 2002 the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare adopted a report concluding that both the welfare and the health of animals can be substantially affected by the transport environment.

It all adds up to a sea change in the livestock sector with proposals including a cut in maximum journey times from 14 hours before a break to a maximum of 12 hours in total; mandatory new equipment including shallower ramps: and extra restrictions on travelling by sea in adverse weather (see box for details).

Considering the tight regulations already imposed on them, you might expect livestock hauliers to be up in arms at another layer of red tape, but some take a pragmatic view. "After Foot and Mouth and BSE anything DEFRA can do to improve the welfare of animals is welcome," says Joe McQuillan, director of McQuillan International in Antrim, Northern Ireland. "The transport of livestock from A to B is quicker without disruptions in between. It is also more welfare-friendly to the livestock with modern vehicles which can carry food and water on board. This means less of a disruption to the animals.

"Livestock is a very funny thing—the less you handle the animals the easier they are, and they don't get upset. It is also more practical for the haulier."

However, McQuillan is not convinced that fresh restrictions are necessary to stop livestock being transported by sea in rough weather: "I have travelled out of ports in Ireland for about nine years and the ferry captain's judgement has always been very, very good."

In any case his company is unlikely to be affected by any new restrictions on long-haul transport—for the past year 95% of its work has involved carrying sheep, cattle and pigs to the British mainland.

Donnie McKerral. MD of Peter McKerral & Co, based in Campbeltown, Scotland, takes a different view: in eight hours the farthest we can get from here is Penrith." Established for more than 30 years, the firm transports mainly cattle, sheep and some pigs within the UK. It has four vehicles dedicated to livestock, averaging five years old.

McKerral adds: "If the eight-hour proposal was implemented we would need new trailers, the cost of which is horrendous. We put water in the ones we've got and that cost a lot of money. No animal, especially sheep, will drink water inside a trailer—it's quite crazy. We're being dictated to by folks who don't know what they're talking about.

"There isn't another livestock haulier in our area; we really give a service to the farming community. I have always been a livestock haulier, but with all the rules and regulations it is more and more difficult. This year I've seen livestock hauliers give up and switch to general haulage. It's difficult to get drivers because they have got to have experience. You can't teach a lorry driver to be a stockman, but you can teach a stockman to drive a lorry."

Two of McKerrars drivers are ex-farm workers: "They know what they are doing— they know if a beast is not right. All these regulations discourage hauliers and make you question if it is all worthwhile."

Tighter restrictions

A long way south of Mc Kenai, International and National Pedigree Livestock Haulage of Bourton-on-the-Water, Glos, would certainly be affected by tighter restrictions on journey times. With more than 30 years in the sector, the firm transports sheep, pigs and cattle throughout Europe including Spain. Italy and Greece; and further afield to the Czech Republic. Poland and Algeria. Owner Edward Gilder says: "We have spent a lot of money on livestock containers with water, ventilation fans, on-board cesspits, lifting decks, tail ramps and so on. The last trailer we bought cost Liio,000 and that was in 1999. It was even built to our own specification.

"A journey time of only eight hours is ridiculous. All the research shows the most stressful thing for the animals is the loading and unloading, not the distance travelled. Phis there's a difference between poor and bad weather. Certainly force 5 is a bit too low. In such conditions the animals lie down; often the stocking density is reduced."

Gilder warns that the proposals will hit Britain's exports: "The importance of livestock hauliers is that we provide farmers with another market for their animals. We also work for some breeding pig companies—it's big business for the UK industry. I think these proposals are just another way of the government pushing farmers out of business. We need farmers to succeed so we can succeed. My family has been in livestock for generations.., my uncles and cousins are all

livestock hauliers in their own t.

The Road Haulage Association is battling to amend the proposals if the EC sticks to the eight-hour rule. Roger Wrapson is secretary of the RHA's Livestock Carriers Group, which has been invited to provide evidence to the EC on improving animal transport. "The European Commission produced the Scientific Report, which was universally condemned as not scientific and ignoring recent research on animal transport," he says.

Wrapson is concerned that, in the absence of help from the EC, the livestock sector is shrinking fast: "There are now only around Goo livestock hauliers. Foot and mouth produced significant losses and because of less activity companies lost drivers. The remaining livestock hauliers are extremely busy because of a smaller pool of drivers and the size of the marketplace."

He adds that while most livestock hauliers abide by the current regulations, a few high. profile exceptions give the whole sector a bad name. The RHA will continue to challenge the EC over these proposals; meetings have taken place in Brussels with the RHA's livestock group and international livestock hauliers. "We have just met and will meet again to make a response to the EC," Wrapson reports, "I am not anticipating an easy ride—it is an extremely difficult time."

The National Farmers Union is keen to support improved conditions for animals but is also aware of the financial implications for its members. NFU spokeswoman Lisa Wise stresses the importance of livestock exports to the Continent for breeding and fattening, although the NFU favours sending animals to the nearest slaughterhouse. "However multiple retailers are currently telling farmers where they want animals slaughtered," she adds. "I have just met with European livestock hauliers. Many are in favour of raising the quality of transporters for long journeys, with better insulation in the vehicles, forced ventilation, certified driver training and so on."

She points out that some operators are closer to market than others: "Hauliers in Cornwall and the North of Scotland do not find it so easy." The NFU is certainly reluctant to add to its members' costs; Wise says there is disagreement between member states as to how to proceed.


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