Document type Answer from the European Commission to question E-003635/2023
Authors: question: Annika Bruna (ID). Answer: Mrs Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission
Question:Reviving our local slaughterhouses by requiring meat to be exported instead of live animals.
Despite the recovery plan, many slaughterhouses are disappearing from our rural areas, which means that animals have to be transported for longer periods to slaughterhouses further away.
Small local slaughterhouses are becoming less profitable: their equipment is becoming outdated, meat consumption is decreasing – which reduces the number of animals being slaughtered – and big clients are turning to larger, more modern and therefore cheaper slaughterhouses.
However, these longer journeys emit more greenhouse gases and cause the animals to suffer. They could also facilitate the spread of epizootic haemorrhagic disease.
One way of increasing the turnover and profitability of these small slaughterhouses would be to stop the long-distance transportation of live animals and to transport meat instead.
This solution would prevent animals from having to endure deplorable transport conditions and the often abhorrent slaughtering conditions of non-EU countries, and it would create fewer negative externalities (accidents on the road and at sea, reduced carbon footprint). It would also help us to retain jobs in our slaughterhouses.
Is the Commission willing to consider this solution? Is it also prepared to provide the industry with technical and financial support, in order to maintain the cold chain?
Answer in French (translation): The Commission adopted on December 7, 2023 a legislative proposal on the protection of animals during transport [1]. The proposal limits the transport of terrestrial animals for slaughter to nine hours, except for poultry and rabbits where the transport for slaughter is limited to 12 hours.
Compliance with food hygiene and notably maintenance of the cold chain is a prerequisite for any food business operator who wants to place food on the EU market.
In this respect, the European meat industry has implemented the cold chain for meat since the 1950s and has developed the necessary infrastructure and knowledge.
Since 2014, the Common Agricultural Policy provides support for, among others, constructing new and/or modernising existing slaughterhouses through investments under rural development or sectoral interventions.
It is up to Member States to choose to implement such measures, in line with the principle of subsidiarity.
[1] Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals during transport and related operations, amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/97 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 [COM(2023) 770 final].
