Majority of MPs support reducing heat limit for animal transportation

The majority of Tweede Kamer members said they support a proposal for the maximum temperature at which animals can be transported to be lowered from 35 to 30 degrees Celsius. The motion was initiated by the Party for the Animals (PvdD), and can count on sufficient parliamentary support to move forward, De Volkskrant reported.

MP Leonie Vestering from PvdD explained that animals already suffer from the heat when the temperature is as low as 24 degrees. Animals also experience heat stress at temperatures between 26 and 29 degrees, she argued.

Caretaker Agriculture Minister Carola Schouten was not in favor of the motion. During a debate on Thursday she emphasized that different limits must be set for different types of livestock. Moreover, she said that the duration of the transport should also be taken into account.

Schouten also claimed that the current limit of 35 degrees was introduced only last year, which according to her proved that "real steps forward have been taken".

The 35-degree limit has been a source of contention for animal rights organizations such as Animal Rights for some time already. Last summer, campaign leader Erwin Vermeulen argued for a limit of 25 degrees to be set.

Vermeulen was highly critical of images of pigs in trucks gasping for air with their mouths wide open at the time.