The European Parliament on
Thursday approved a resolution to combat illegal cat and dog
trafficking, estimated to be the third most lucrative black
market in the EU-28 after arms and drugs.
The resolution by MEPs from the European People's Party
(EPP) and the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD)
caucuses calls on the European Commission to ensure all member
States share animal ID information by setting up an EU animal
registry that would supersede existing national ones.
"We took a step forward not only for animal welfare but
also for public health," said MEP Giulia Moi from Italy's
anti-establishment, anti-euro 5-Star Movement (M5S), who was the
first signatory to the resolution on behalf of the euroskeptic
EFDD caucus.
"The latest data shows 70% of new human diseases are animal
in origin," she pointed out.
"We must fill a vacuum in current legislation in order to
stop illegal animal trafficking," said German MEP Renate Sommer
(EPP), who initiated the resolution.
"The system still makes it too easy to falsify animal
identities," she said.
European families currently include 126 million pet dogs
and cats, and illegally trafficked ones often suffer cruel and
inhumane treatment at the hands of criminal organizations -
which often fail to vaccinate them and to keep them in sanitary
conditions.
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