Thousands of animals regularly die aboard converted and unsafe cattle ships. One of the reasons for this insecurity is the European regulation for animal welfare during transport and the lack of enforcement.
Fortunately, there are also safe cattle ships, such as those of Dutch shipping companies, which have been specially built for the transport of cattle by sea. Due to the higher standards, these safe cattle ships can hardly compete with the cheaper and unsafe cattle ships. This unequal struggle results in the animals being the greatest victims. It is therefore high time that something is done about it.
The European regulation for animal welfare during transport is currently being revised. The question is, however, what exactly should be done about the transport of livestock by sea. Minister Schouten of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality is calling for a total ban on the transport of livestock from the EU by sea. Together with other countries, the Netherlands is also making this plea in Brussels. Minister Schouten repeated this message in the House of Representatives last Monday after parliamentary questions and the Dutch commitment is also mentioned in the Budget Day documents.
Long-distance transport by sea can be done responsibly and safely with sea-going vessels. Moreover, it is highly questionable whether a generic ban will prevent harrowing accidents with livestock vessels. The unsafe livestock vessels will transport other livestock from outside the EU (where less strict or no rules apply) as long as demand persists. The problem will just move.
Isn't it much better and more effective to only tackle unsafe livestock vessels by imposing stricter requirements on those types of vessels? Therefore ban unsafe cattle ships instead of transporting cattle by sea. As the EU, don't move the problem but really solve it by simply imposing strict requirements on livestock vessels. The Dutch cattle ships that transport livestock from the EU responsibly by sea have been ready for years.
