Today Eyes on Animals, Animal Welfare Foundation and Welfarm gave a training on the EU animal-welfare-legislation during transport to 35 police officers from the Highway police office near Kiskunfelegyhaza, located 100km south of Budapest.
After the theory training, we set up a control post near the city’s slaughterhouse, where dozens of pig trucks line up until it is their turn to head into the plant to unload. The official veterinarian from this region also participated. One truck had pigs from Slovakia, the rest were all from Hungary. The condition of the majority of the trucks was very poor; absence of bedding, dividers not in place, uncomfortable flooring etc… but because the journeys were all under 8 hrs, there was little legal basis to take serious action. The condition in which animals can be transported under 8 hrs is very poor and the EU legislation does not offer them much. Pigs, for example, are very clean animals and find it aversive to lie down in their own manure but according to EU legislation, they must only be given bedding if transported over 8 hrs. Therefore the pigs today had no choice but to lie in their own excrement…
Nevertheless, the police still took notes down on two trucks- one for having too many pigs inside one compartment of the truck, and another for having too few, risking the safety of the animals which could fly around should the driver have to break or take a corner too fast. The police will forward on these concerns to the veterinarian office that can send out fines.
