A court in Munich has rejected the objections from the Bavarian Ministry of Environment against a cattle transport of 31 pregnant heifers via Hungary to Kazakhstan.
With this, the court compels the official veterinarian to release the animal transport after all. The export permit of the carrier has also been approved.
Kazakhstan is on a list of 18 ‘third countries’ about which the Environmental Ministry in southern Germany’s Bavaria has serious doubts whether the animal welfare requirements will be met during export.
The scheduled 30-day quarantine of the transport in Hungary means, according to the court, that the transport consists of two separate processes. According to the current legal situation, it is therefore up to the Hungarian authorities to decide on further export, the court finds.
In October, the Bavarian Ministry of Environment issued a new order that export to other EU countries can also be prohibited if the animals are then transported from there to ‘third countries’ (=non-EU countries). This was also the reason for the refusal of the export certificate to Hungary.
According to German cattle exporters, the negative list of 18 third countries compiled by the regional Bavarian ministry is incompatible with EU and German federal legislation. The additional obstacles imposed by the Bavarian Ministry of Environment not only do nothing for animal welfare but also cause economic damage to local businesses, says the transport sector.
A spokesperson for the agricultural sector also emphasizes that the sale of breeding animals makes an important contribution to maintaining small-scale and alpine farming in Bavaria. Neighboring countries such as Austria would be able to export their animals to ‘third countries’ unhindered.