The welfare conditions of each consignment of animals shall be systematically assessed by the animal welfare officer or a person reporting directly to the animal welfare officer upon arrival in order to identify the priorities, in particular by determining which animals have specific welfare needs and the corresponding measures to be taken.

Certificates shall be valid for a period of not more than five years from the date of issue and shall become invalid as soon as the means of transport are modified or refitted in a way that affects the welfare of the animals.

Stressful transport conditions adversely affect not only animal welfare but can also impact on meat quality.

European consumers' views about farm animal welfare: results from consumer focus groups carried out across 7 European countries; Animal friendliness and food consumption practices, results from population surveys in 7 countries; The retail of welfare-friendly products: A comparative assessment of the nature of the market for welfare friendly products in six European countries; Farmers' engagement in animal welfare, the case of pig producers; Developing a monitoring system to assess welfare quality in cattle, pigs and chickens; Developing practical species-specific measures to improve farm animal welfare; A review of the tools th ...[+++]at are being developed to facilitate the implementation of improved animal welfare standards.

I welcome today’s political agreement on new rules which will make it easier to enforce higher standards of welfare in animal transport.

Consumers are concerned about animal welfare, though often not as a priority in its own right: welfare is seen as an indicator of good food standards, so that high welfare production is associated with food quality, safety and healthiness.