On 8 April, debates on animal transport continued to stall within the European Parliament's Agriculture and Transport Committees, which met for the presentation of a study by the Parliament's research services on the lack of enforcement of the 2005 animal welfare during transport legislation.
As the European Commission introduced a new proposal for a regulation on animal transport in December 2023, two key blocs emerged in the European Parliament. On one side, conservatives, right-wing, and centrists groups (including the Renew, PPE, ECR, and PfE groups) argued that a new regulation was unnecessary.
“The problem is not the absence of rules, but their enforcement”, stated MEP Benoît Cassart (Renew, Belgium). On the other side, the Greens/EFA and Socialists (S&D) aligned with the author of the Parliament study and the European Commission’s position, asserting that the lack of enforcement should not hinder legislative progress. “Scientific evidence supports the need for improved regulation”, said Luc Mounier, the study's author.