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P ,NIMAL MOVEMENTS
Page 14
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Ewe've no need to fear EC Livestock regs, says RHA
A TRADE UNION'S fear that proposed European restrictions on transporting livestock are poised to be put back on the agenda "in just a few weekshave been dismissed by the Road Haulage Association (RHA).
The NFU Scotland says it has received warnings that tighter rules on journey times, stocking density and temperature control are about to be introduced by the European Commission.
Scottish farmers and livestock hauliers would be affected by such a move because they often have to send livestock long distances to get to a suitable slaughterhouse. A spokesman for NFU Scotland says this is because many abattoirs have closed their doors in recent years, leaving the few left farther apart.
In certain circumstances, this can mean Scottish farmers being forced to send their animals into southeastern England for slaughter.
A slaughterhouse in Essex, for example, now kills almost all the ageing sows in the UK. This is because older, bigger pigs are much heavier, and not all abattoirs are equipped to deal with them. NFU Scotland says it would he particularly annoyed if new rules were introduced because the last changes, formulated in 2005 and introduced in 2007/2008, have only just had time to bed in.
But Eddie Harper, chairman of the RE-1A livestock committee, says the NFU's fears about new plans are unfounded and that the proposals have been dropped.
y He adds: "The NFU has got its knickers in a twist. "Europe has al3 ready binned these proposals; there is no way they are going to come out without a lot of modification," he states.
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