(7thJune 2012)

The 8hours campaign was launched jointly by Animals’ Angels - an international organization which has documented hundreds of cases of severe suffering endured by animals transported on long-distance journeys - together with Danish MEP Dan Jørgensen.
The aim of the initiative is to limit the transport of animals for the purpose of slaughter to no longer than 8hours.

Over 1,100,000 citizens who signed the 8hours petition are asking the European institutions to take action against the biggest problem related to live animal transport: the length of the journey. The enforcement of the existing rules is not enough, if long-distance journeys are not brought to an end.

The hand-in followed the meeting of a restricted number of MEPs and NGO representatives with Commissioner Dalli, who then received the signatures at the presence of larger group of supporters including Members of the European Parliament and leaders of European animal welfare organisations.

Commissioner Dalli agreed with the participants that Regulation 1/2005 is not sufficient to guarantee an acceptable level of welfare for animals during transport, and announced that the Commission will propose a review of EU legislation that will include – among other things - a reduction of transport times.

The 8hours petition is not a European Citizens’ Initiative, because it would have not been legally possible to launch it before 1st April 2012, but it gathered the support of a greater number of citizens than required by the ECI. If the Commission decides to ignore this call, it would undermine the credibility of EU democratic instruments such as the ECI.
Commissioner Dalli said that anyway the message of EU citizens is clear and the Commission will respond to this call.

Over 130 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have expressed their support for 8hours publicly , and over 100 organizations all over Europe - among them the Italian Horse Protection association - are supporting this campaign .

On 15 March 2012 the European Parliament adopted Written Declaration 49/2011, which ‘calls on the Commission and the Council to review Regulation 1/2005 to establish a maximum 8-hour limit for the journeys of animals transported for the purpose of being slaughtered’.

“Over one million citizens and the majority of their elected representatives in Europe have sent a clear message that the present Regulation is largely ineffective and needs reviewing, especially to establish a radical reduction in transport times” said Christa Blanke, founder and president of Animals’ Angels. “Any further delay in amending Regulation 1/2005 would constitute a breach of Art. 13 of the Treaty, which says that ‘the Union and the Member States shall, since animals are sentient beings, pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals, while respecting the legislative or administrative provisions and customs of the Member States relating in particular to religious rites, cultural traditions and regional heritage.’, not just the economic interests of a few, against the opinion of the majority of Europeans”.

“Citizens and Members of the European Parliament are united in demanding an urgent review of the transport Regulation This is becoming a matter of democracy, especially when the first Eurpean Citizens’ Initiatives are being launched” said Danish MEP Dan Jørgensen. “If the voice of over 1,100,000 citizens is ignored so blatantly, the Commission and Council will have the responsibility of widening even more the gap between EU citizens and the institutions that are supposed to operate on their behalf. 8 hours is more than enough for live animal transport, the Regulation must change!”