Martyrdom for cattle at Turkish border ends in death "Ban on live animal transports to third countries must be included in the new Animal Welfare Act" Commentary

Cattle behind bars during animal transport

69 pregnant cattle that were dispatched during a livestock transport in Brandenburg were stranded at the border with Turkey; many of the animals died. Their ordeal lasted more than two weeks. Because Brandenburg has been considered an epidemic area since August due to bluetongue, Turkish veterinarians had stopped the transport. A return to the EU was also not possible due to legal requirements. Thomas Schröder, President of the German Animal Welfare Federation, comments:

“This case definitively shows that the irresponsible shuffling of supposed bureaucratic responsibilities back and forth between the federal government, EU, states and districts has completely failed and caused unbelievable animal suffering. The fact that the responsible Federal Minister Özdemir is “shocked” by the images from Turkey, according to media reports, while the draft amendment to the Animal Welfare Act from his ministry again contains no ban on these live animal transports to third countries and does not even implement the requirements of the coalition agreement, is particularly staggering. Instead of taking action, Özdemir shifts the issue to the EU, although several expert opinions confirm that national regulation is possible - including one from the Bundestag's Scientific Service.

We call on the SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and FDP parliamentary groups to enshrine a ban on live animal exports to third countries in law in order to put an end to this cruel practice once and for all. Now is the time! The traffic light has the opportunity to prove whether it takes animal welfare seriously.”

The parliamentary groups in the German Bundestag are currently discussing the draft Animal Welfare Act. The adoption of the amendment by the German Bundestag is already planned for the next few weeks. In its coalition agreement, the coalition government promised as a solution that live animal transports to third countries would only be permitted in future if they take place on routes with proven animal welfare-compliant supply facilities. There is no mention of this in the draft of the Animal Welfare Act.

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