EU Regulation 2023/0448 on animal transport protection: the EEF proposal

Official statement from the EEF

The European Equestrian Federation (EEF) has actively collaborated under the guidance from Catherine Bonnichon de Rancourt chair from the EEF EU Committee with the European and Mediterranean Horseracing Federation (EMHF), the European Federation of Thoroughbred Breeders Associations (EFTBA), and the European Trotting Union (UET) on a comprehensive position paper addressing critical concerns in the proposed legislation.

The attached document outlines:

a. how legitimate and important is the proposed derogation (Article 2.2) proposed by the European Commission for the equestrian sport and leisure activities horses,

b. how the current regulatory proposal fails to recognise the needs from horses transported for breeding purposes and auction sales. While the proposal includes a welcome derogation for horses in competition and training, it overlooks these equally important segments of our industry. Applying general livestock transport regulations to equine transport related to breeding and auctions is misleading due to very different contexts. It would have severe side effects such as harming our sector economically without significant horse welfare standards improvements.

Our key priorities are focused on extending the Article 2.2 derogation, beyond its current limitations, to include horses transported for breeding and registered auction sales, ensuring recognition that well-handled, trained horses have fundamentally different transport experiences and needs compared to livestock, and promoting science-based regulations that properly acknowledge the specific physiological and behavioural characteristics of sport and racing horses.

The co-legislators are currently working on this proposal:

– at the European Parliament: More than 3000 amendments have been tabled in the relevant committees which will discuss them in May. The final vote might be at the end of the year.

– at the Council of the European Union: under the current Polish presidency, chapters II and VI are discussed within the Working Group. The scope of the derogation has not been discussed at this stage.

 We strongly encourage you to contact your Members of the European Parliament and your Government to support our proposed amendments. Your engagement is essential to ensure these regulations protect both horse welfare and the viability of our industry across Europe.

Written by the EEF.