Report: Veterinary Office Landshut denied animal transport to far away countries

Cattle transport is controversial - especially if it leads to countries whose animal welfare does not meet European standards. The Veterinary Office Landshut and District Administrator Peter Dreier (Free Voters) want to deny such animal transports in the future the approval, as the "Bayerischer Rundfunk" (BR) reports.

A veterinary office must issue a so-called certificate in order for animals to be admitted to the livestock trading center. This wants to refuse the veterinary office Landshut in the appropriate cases now. "For me it is animal cruelty, if cattle are transported from our region several thousand kilometers, and then to be slaughtered in countries where there is no animal welfare," quotes the district administrator Dreier.

The trigger for the exhibition stop was therefore the planned transport of a pregnant cow, which should be driven about 5000 kilometers to Uzbekistan. That prevented the veterinary office. In such cases, according to the BR, in the future, certificates will only be issued if the responsible Bavarian Ministry of the Environment issues a corresponding instruction.

Breed Association wants to fight back

The Mühldorf breeding association, which was supposed to bring the cow to Uzbekistan, is threatened with legal action, according to the report. The pregnant cow is a breeding animal and not a slaughter animal. In addition, the certificate must be issued if the export requirements are met.

In addition to the Landshut authorities, the Landratsamt Passau also announced that it would no longer issue corresponding certificates, as the "Passauer Neue Presse" reported. So it behaves like the veterinary office Landshut. "We too are waiting for clear instructions from the Ministry," said a spokesman.

The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture writes on its website that livestock transport over long distances for reasons of animal welfare should be "avoided as far as possible", because they could "lead to special strains on animals". However, there is no possibility of prohibiting long slaughter transports in principle.