Roughly 40 officials from the Dutch government, responsible for checking on livestock trucks on the road and handing out the approval certificate of the livestock vehicle, attended our 2-hour presentation on “truck-design”. We showed photos and videos showing how the design of the truck and its water systems, dividers, fans, floor space etc… can have a huge impact on the welfare of the animals during the journey. If the truck is well designed according to the behaviour and physiology of the specie, the animals can be better protected. But design flaws, such as incorrect water systems for the specie on board or no access to the animals during transport, lead to hours and even days of unnecessary suffering. The purpose of today’s “training session” was to make the approval process for livestock vehicles more strict and thorough. That only the best trucks receive the approval and that the certificate specify in detail which specie can be transported and at what age. The plan is to spread this training presentation to other Member States soon, so that the condition and quality of livestock vehicles are more harmonized and the suffering of animals in transit be reduced as much as realistically possible. Thanks to everyone from the Dutch government for coming. We are really pleased with the level of interest and good communication.
