April 4, 2007

Denmark ceases live animal exports outside EU
 

The Danish Agricultural Council has halted all live animal exports on Monday (April 2) outside the European Union and on areas that require more than 24 hours of transport.

The council said a new ethical code would be drafted and conformed to the exporters.

The sanction was quickly imposed after Danish broadcaster DR last week showed images of pigs on a truck being transported under dreadful conditions due to lack of water and food on the Latvian-Russian border.

The report said Latvian customs officials discovered some 33 dead pigs among the 1,150 pigs on the truck. Several pigs also had broken bones and other injuries and 36 had to be alighted immediately.

DR said the truck was operated by a banned Danish hauler who had often violated animal welfare rules and whose permit was suspended in Denmark, but continued operations with a Polish permit.

The television reporters also monitored trucks headed for Belarus and showed images of animals being beaten by a trucker.

Peter Gaemelke, head of the Agricultural Council that groups Danish farmers and the food industry said the dead animals and the beatings are "completely unacceptable" and farmers hold responsibility on the animals even after leaving their farms.