From northern Germany, the first cattle have been shipped in a long-distance livestock transport to Morocco. The administrative court in Lüneburg rejected an appeal by the state of Lower Saxony on Wednesday, after the transport of more than 500 cattle had already begun on Tuesday.
The state minister had also previously tried to stop the transport in earlier proceedings for reasons of animal welfare. According to the court, the state could not prove any animal welfare violations.
The judges said that the argument (presumably animal suffering in Morocco) could not be proven in advance. Furthermore, a German transport company cannot be held responsible for that, they said.
Lower Saxony relied on a recent ruling by the German Bundesrat (Upper House). It determined that the states are not able to decide on such long-distance animal transports and that such transport permits must be handled at the national level.
The states of Lower Saxony and Brandenburg still lead within Germany when it comes to the export of live animals to countries outside Europe. Approximately 22,000 calves from Lower Saxony and about 40,000 from Brandenburg are exported annually.
Other states already prohibit such exports in some cases or impose special requirements. In recent years, some animal transports to countries such as Uzbekistan, Morocco, or Kazakhstan have been banned. They fear that rest times for the animals during the long journeys will not be observed or that there will be a shortage of food and drinking water at rest stops.
The issue of regional or national laws for agriculture and animal welfare presents a major stumbling block for Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner (CDU). She not only wants to maintain the extensive regionalization but also wants to place many new European agricultural measures under the states’ control.
Moreover, Klöckner does not want to impose new animal welfare rules mandatory on farmers and livestock holders but prefers a voluntary scheme. In the German media, many experts express concern that in that case little will be achieved.