Members of the European Parliament’s Committee for the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy have today (Thursday) unanimously supported proposals by Jill Evans MEP to introduce special Pet Passports which will make it much easier for owners to take their pets abroad within the European Union.
The all-Wales MEPs report on "Animal-health requirements applicable to non-commercial movement of pet animals" will now be put before the full parliament for adoption at the end of October. It recommends that pets that have been vaccinated against rabies and have identification should not face travel restrictions within the EU.
Ms Evans, who is leader of Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales in the European Parliament, said:
"My report on introducing a special Pet Passport will hopefully help pave the way for new legislation allowing owners to take their pets with them when they travel abroad in the EU. This would of course be dependant on meeting strict criteria such as ensuring the pets have identification microchips and that they have been vaccinated against rabies – but allowing that freedom of movement would be of great benefit to both pets and their owners alike."
"The current requirements make it very difficult for pets to travel abroad, but there is no reason for this to be the case as long as a system with proper medical and identification checks is in place."
Jill Evans has been a strong advocate of animal rights issues in the European Parliament and was a prominent supporter of the successful vote to ban testing cosmetics on animals and to ban the selling of cosmetic ingredients that have been tested on animals.
Earlier this week she also presented a report calling for stricter controls to protect animals used for experiments. The current law does not provide enough safeguards for the overall welfare of the animals, and the report called for a standard EU inspectorate to be established with the powers to inspect any premises where animals are being used for experimentation, without any prior warning, with the power to revoke the license of any establishment not adhering to the rules.
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