• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • EYES ON ANIMALS – Watching out for their Welfare
  • English
  • Nederlands
  • Deutsch

Eyes on Animals

Watching out for their Welfare

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
DONATE
  • About us
    • What we do
    • Our team
    • Key Figures
    • Contact
  • News
    • Latest news
    • Good news
    • Bad news
    • Subscribe to our newsletter
  • Inspections
    • Farms
    • Markets
    • Transports
    • Slaughterhouses
    • Special projects
    • Other
  • Training
    • Police
    • Truck drivers
    • Poultry-catchers
    • Slaughter personnel
    • Training Material
    • Request a training
  • Industry Tips
    • Animal transport
      • Cattle
      • Pigs
      • Poultry
    • Slaughterhouses
      • Cattle
      • Pigs
      • Poultry
      • Ritual slaughter
    • Educational videos
  • Publications
    • In the media
      • Print
      • Television
      • Radio
      • Videos
    • Newsletters
    • Special reports
    • Training Material
    • Annual reviews
  • Future Vision
  • Help us
Home » Our inspections » Meeting with RDA about horse-welfare at markets, The Netherlands

Meeting with RDA about horse-welfare at markets, The Netherlands

July 12, 2016

Meeting with the Council for Animal Affairs (RDA) Eyes on Animals has discussed its views with the Council for Animal Affairs (RDA) for the adjustments needed to better safeguard the welfare of horses at horse markets. We have drawn up a long list of conditions that a horse market should provide to meet all animal welfare and transport regulations. “Horse market towns” will have to choose: do they want to hold a festival, or a horse market that meets the law?

For several years, Eyes on Animals has reported large-scale and structural violations of the laws on the big Dutch horse markets. Annually, from midnight until the following evening, thousands of horses suffer under stress and exhaustion from partying crowds, noisy fairs, lack of water, food and veterinary supervision. Moreover, the European Transport EC 1/2005 regulations are massively ignored.

In response to parliamentary questions following the EonA inspection of the horse market Zuidlaren in 2015, where we once again reported an atmosphere of lawlessness, the State Secretary of Agriculture Van Dam finally stated that this has to stop. He commissioned the Council for Animal Affairs (RDA) to re-write the Protocol Horse Markets and bring the decoupling of horse markets and festivals into practice. He has asked EonA to give advice.

The fact that the State Secretary has now confirmed that a horse market is legally valid as a “place of transfer” is very good news. For the government now recognizes that the time a horse stays at a market is in fact a part of the transport period, and that therefore all European rules for a long horse transport (> 8 hours) should be enforced. Therefore, EonA has advised the RDA that a horse market should not take longer than 4 hours. In addition, every single horse must have access to water. Also, foals and young, unbroken horses should be excluded from participation.

2016.15.08.Bemmel.horsemarketFurthermore, Eyes on Animals has expressed its concerns about possible conflicting interests of the ‘horse market towns’. They are responsible for licensing, law enforcement and are also often co-organizer. Last year, at the horse market in Zuidlaren, the municipal organizer refused protection of the EonA inspection team when we were threatened while filming legal violations and horse abuse. The perpetrators were not prosecuted. Therefore, EonA stresses that local authorities need to be monitored for compliance with the new rules, and a clear penalty provision should be linked to the Protocol.

Finally, according to EonA, the new Protocol should be an intermediate step. The aim should be to further complement the Dutch Animals Act with more detailed prohibitions.

Do you find our work to improve horse welfare important? Please help us help animals and donate!

  • share 
  • tweet 
  • share 
  • save 
  • email 

Filed Under: other, Our inspections Tagged With: horse market, horse welfare

Primary Sidebar

Search

Featured

Upright chicken catching project on German and French TV

ZDF and Arte recently televised EonA’s project to reduce stress, pain and injuries by catching hens … [Read More...] about Upright chicken catching project on German and French TV

Featured

Interview with Lesley Moffat for the podcast-show “See differently’

For the podcast-show “See differently” Christel van Raaij has a personal interview with Lesley … [Read More...] about Interview with Lesley Moffat for the podcast-show “See differently’

Our most recent newsletter

Dear friends,

I want to tell you about Akuba. A young sow we met last week in Ghana. We were there in the first two weeks of December, inspecting and improving slaughterhouses together with the local NGO WACPAW. Our goal: curb the intense suffering of animals that is going on there.

 

Read more…

Subscribe to our newsletter

Eyes on Animals op Twitter

eyes_on_animals Eyes on Animals @eyes_on_animals ·
51m

😳🐓 Dit zegt een man tegen de kip die hij gaat slachten in Volkskrant Magazine: “Bedankt dat we je mogen eten.” Wij zijn benieuwd of de kip in kwestie dit zal beamen….. #slacht

Reply on Twitter 1622925423578427392 Retweet on Twitter 1622925423578427392 Like on Twitter 1622925423578427392 Twitter 1622925423578427392
louisbolk Louis Bolk Instituut @louisbolk ·
5h

Onze onderzoeksresultaten proberen zo veel mogelijk te delen met de praktijk. Dit doen we o.a. door artikelen te publiceren in het vakblad voor de biologische sector; Ekoland (⇢ https://www.ekoland.nl). Over welke onderwerpen wil jij graag wat lezen? Suggesties zijn welkom!👇

Reply on Twitter 1622868129012453376 Retweet on Twitter 1622868129012453376 3 Like on Twitter 1622868129012453376 2 Twitter 1622868129012453376
eyes_on_animals Eyes on Animals @eyes_on_animals ·
15h

Er komt beweging in! - Erasmus Universiteit roept klimaat-noodtoestand uit: relaties met fossiele industrie onder de loep | Rotterdam | http://AD.nl https://www.ad.nl/rotterdam/erasmus-universiteit-roept-klimaat-noodtoestand-uit-relaties-met-fossiele-industrie-onder-de-loep~a9482a69/

Reply on Twitter 1622718682098008081 Retweet on Twitter 1622718682098008081 2 Like on Twitter 1622718682098008081 6 Twitter 1622718682098008081
Load More...

ANBI

Footer

Donate with Paypal

Paypal Eyes on Animals
One-time donation:
Monthly donation:

Reading Material

  • In the Media
  • Newsletters
  • Special EonA reports
  • Legislative texts
  • ANBI

Our Amsterdam Office

Amsterdam House Hotel
Eyes on Animals main office is in downtown Amsterdam, at the Amsterdam House Hotel. The generous and warm-hearted hotel owner donated to Eyes on Animals, free of charge, a beautiful room where our inspectors can work, hold meetings and store their material.

Copyright © 2023 · Eyes on Animals | Website by Webkompaan