Live exporters lose a friend

THE live export trade will lose a powerful supporter when Joe Walsh steps down from the Agriculture Minister’s job in a week’s time.

As President of the EU Agriculture Council in the first six months of 2004, he postponed decisions on live exports, because extreme positions were adopted by opponents and supporters, making it impossible to reach a balanced agreement which would continue legitimate trade for live animals, whilst leading to an improvement in animal welfare standards.

Putting off decisions to another day was probably the best outcome live exporters could have hoped for, with the UK, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg opposing the latest proposals on treatment of the 20 million live animals transported across Europe annually.