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Description of content: A
new § 9a is added to the existing national legislation on protection of
animals during transport in order to set additional minimum requirements to
the internal height of lorries/vehicles transporting live swine/pigs below 40
kg.
So far, such requirements have only concerned the transportation of
live swine/pigs above 40 kg.
The provision introduces minimum internal floor height requirements.
This means that a new table is added to Annex 1 to the Transport Order, which
currently only lays down internal height requirements for pigs over 40 kg.
Internal height requirements for pigs over 40 kg, which currently appear in
Annex 1 to the Transport Order, have previously been validated by both the
European Court of Justice (Case C-491/06 and Case C-316/10) and the Danish
Supreme Court. Both the European Court of Justice and the Supreme Court have
ruled that national numerical standards may be set for internal height. At
the same time, the Court of Justice of the European Union mentions that legal
certainty is enhanced and the predictability is increased by setting minimum
internal height standards.
The extension of the height requirements for pigs under 40 kg in
Table 1 of the Order is based on new research results regarding minimum
values for internal height requirements and the development of a new
height/weight preparation model published by Aarhus University in July 2022.
The legal basis for the establishment of internal height requirements
follows from Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 on the
protection of animals during transport and related operations, Article 3(g)
and Annex 1, Chapter II, point 1.2, respectively on appropriate heights for
animals and ensuring free movement and adequate ventilation during transport.
The draft Order is expected to enter into force on 1th of July 2024
and will apply after the end of a six-year and nine-month transitional
period, i.e. 1 April 2031.
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