Activities of Sylwia SPUREK related to 2019/2814(RSP)
Plenary speeches (1)
The illegal trade in companion animals in the EU (debate)
Institutional motions (1)
MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on protecting the EU’s internal market and consumer rights against the negative implications of the illegal trade in companion animals
Amendments (51)
Amendment 1 #
Citation 1 a (new)
– having regard to Article 13 TFEU, which stipulates that, in formulating and implementing Union policies, the Union and the Member States shall, since animals are sentient beings, pay full regard to their welfare requirements,
Amendment 2 #
Citation 1 b (new)
– having regard to Article 13 TFEU on animal sentience and on paying full regard to animal welfare requirements when formulating and implementing the Union’s policies,
Amendment 3 #
Citation 1 c (new)
Amendment 4 #
Citation 1 d (new)
– having regard to Article 169 TFEU on consumer protection measures,
Amendment 5 #
Citation 1 e (new)
– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on transmissible animal diseases (Animal Health Law) and the delegated and implementing powers conferred on the Commission,
Amendment 6 #
Citation 1 f (new)
– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 (‘Animal Health Law’) and to the powers granted to adopt delegated and implementing acts,
Amendment 7 #
Citation 2
– having regard to Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on the non-commercial movement of pet animals and repealing Regulation (EC) No 998/20032 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 577/2013, _________________ 2 OJ L 178, 28.6.2013, p. 1.
Amendment 8 #
Citation 3
Amendment 9 #
Citation 5
Amendment 10 #
Citation 5 a (new)
Amendment 11 #
Citation 8 a (new)
– having regard to the study on the welfare of dogs and cats involved in commercial practices financed by the European Commission (SANCO 2013/12364),
Amendment 12 #
Citation 8 b (new)
– having regard to the outcomes of the EU Coordinated Control Plan on online sales of dogs and cats3a, _________________ 3aEuropean Commission (2019). The EU coordinated control plan for the official controls on online sales of dogs and cats: Analysis of the results: https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/welfare/ other_aspects/online_dog-cat_en
Amendment 13 #
Citation 8 c (new)
– having regard to the EU Coordinated Control Plan on online sales of dogs and cats,
Amendment 14 #
Recital A
A. whereas a significantnon-governmental organisations, law enforcement services, competent authorities and veterinarians have shown evidence of the growing number of companion animals that are illegally traded across Member States, often by organised crime networks, through the deliberatewidespread misuse of Regulation (EU) No 576/2013, which is intended for the non- commercial movements of pet animals, when they should be transported under Council Directive 92/65/EEC, through evasion of controls and document falsification;
Amendment 18 #
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas many adverts offering animals for sale online come from illegal sources;
Amendment 19 #
Recital C
C. whereas no common rules exist at the EU level concerning the breeding of companion animals and differences between Member States in breeders’ standards of animal welfare have led to big differences in prices of companion animals on the internal market, which is exploited by illegal traders;
Amendment 23 #
Recital D
D. whereas the illegal breeding of cats and dogs is often kept as cost-efficient as possible and happens in terrible conditions; whereas puppies are often separated from their mothers much too early, are poorly socialised, prone to disease and subjected to long journeys across the EU in cramped and filthy conditions with no food, water, or air-conditioning, and no breaks;
Amendment 26 #
Recital E
E. whereas pet passports are often counterfeited with veterinarians involved in this illegal practice; , despite improvements, major concerns still remain in terms of pet passports, such as the age verification for individual animals and the possibility to change passports; whereas pet passports are often counterfeited with veterinarians involved in this illegal practice, making controls and investigations more complex4a; _________________ 4aSee FOUR PAWS Report of 2013 “Puppy trade in Europe” http://www.carodog.eu/wp- content/uploads/2014/10/REPORT_EUR OPEAN_PUPPY_TRADE2.pdf
Amendment 38 #
Recital H
H. whereas a very common method used to purchase companion animals in the EU is now through online classified adverts, followed closely by social media;5 whereas consumers who purchase companion animals via online advertisements have little protection of their rights, whether at national or EU level; whereas unaccountedhigh numbers of illegally bred companion animals are sold on markets in Member States or directly out of cars along the internal borders of the EU; _________________ 5 EU Dog & Cat Alliance + Blue Cross (2017). Online Pet Sales in the EU: What’s the cost? https://s3-eu-west- 1.amazonaws.com/assets.dogandcatwelfare .eu/live/media/publicationtemp/12195_- _EU_Pet_sales_report_spreads.pdf
Amendment 39 #
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas 65% of the respondents do not think the Internet is safe for its users and 90% agree that online hosting services should immediately remove content flagged as illegal by public or law enforcement authorities; whereas six in ten Internet users use an online social network at least once a week and most Internet users also use online market places at least occasionally, with 30% using them at least once a week; whereas 69% of internet users in the EU buys online with numbers increasing on an annual basis also when it comes to animals1a; _________________ 1a Flash Eurobarometer 464/2018 Report Illegal content online: http://ec.europa.eu/commfrontoffice/publi copinion/index.cfm/ResultDoc/download/ DocumentKy/83669
Amendment 40 #
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas mistreatment of companion animals, including animals bred, kept and sold for the purpose of becoming pets in households, companion animals used for entertainment, sport and work like greyhounds and galgos, and stray animals remains a huge concern for many citizens; whereas (better) identification and registration of pets can be a useful tool in the battle against animal abuse;
Amendment 42 #
Recital H a (new)
Ha. whereas more than 70% of the new diseases that have emerged in humans over recent decades are of animal origin, and animals commonly kept as pets are carrier hosts of 41 zoonoses, including rabies5a; _________________ 5aMichael J. Day et al (2012). Surveillance of Zoonotic Infectious Disease Transmitted by Small Companion Animals: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/18/12/12 -0664_article
Amendment 43 #
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas pet animals of the species listed in Part A of Annex I of Regulation (EU) No 576/2013 may not be moved from one Member State to another Member State, unless they are marked by implantation of a transponder; whereas there is no requirement for harmonised mandatory identification of cats and dogs that stay within national borders and are not being moved to other Member States; whereas there are cats and dogs in Member States that remain unidentified and unregistered;
Amendment 45 #
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas the EU Coordinated Control Plan (CCP) on online sales of dogs and cats indicated inconsistency between activities and trader's status for 42% of controlled advertisements1b; _________________ 1bEU Coordinated Control Plan on online sales of dogs and cats: https://ec.europa.eu/food/sites/food/files/a nimals/docs/reg- com_ahw_20190612_asf_aw-control- coord-plan-sale-dog-cats_eur.pdf
Amendment 46 #
Recital H b (new)
Hb. whereas some classified ads websites are starting to adopt, on a voluntary basis, stricter rules to verify the identity of online sellers and improve the welfare of the animals;
Amendment 47 #
Recital H c (new)
Hc. whereas the majority of Member States already have a certain level of requirements for the identification and registration of cats and dogs; whereas identification requirements for cats, dogs and ferrets are not harmonised resulting in misuse of country codes, duplicate and incorrect codes among others6a;whereas most registration databases are not interconnected and therefore limit traceability in the EU; _________________ 6aSee FOUR PAWS Report of 2016 “Identification, vaccination and movement of dogs and cats in the EU: How to improve the Pet Passport and TRACES systems?”http://www.lawyersforanimalpro tection.eu/wp- content/uploads/2016/07/INSIDE-1.pdf
Amendment 50 #
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Stresses that the illegal trade in dogs and cats not only has catastrophic repercussions in terms of animal welfare but also poses risks in terms of public health and consumer protection;
Amendment 53 #
Paragraph 1
1. Emphasises that the EU-wide harmonised system of mandatory identification and registration of cats and dogs is a crucial and necessary first step in the fight against illegal trade, and that registration and identification are key conditions for control, enforcement, and traceability;
Amendment 56 #
Paragraph 2
2. Urges the European Commission to come forward, via afully use its delegated actpowers under the Animal Health Law,rticles 109 and 118 of the Animal Health Law and come forward with a proposal for detailed, compatible systems for the means and methods of identification and registration of cats and dogs isetting minimum threshold of required information for individual animal identification and establishing rules for the exchange of electronic data between databases in the Member States, which should be interconnected by the end of this legislative term;
Amendment 58 #
Paragraph 2
2. Urges the European Commission to come forward, via a delegated act under the Animal Health Law’s Articles 109 and 118, with a proposal for detailed, EU-wide compatible systems for the means and methods of identification and registration of cats and dogs in databases in the Member States, which should be interconnected;
Amendment 61 #
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Member States to introduce policies with the aim of marking and registering all cats and dogs by default in the battle against animal abuse;
Amendment 62 #
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Amendment 63 #
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the European Commission to draw up a cross-sectorial EU Action Plan to address the illegal trade in companion animals in the EU; considers that the Action Plan should take on board the views of the European Parliament, Member States and the relevant stakeholders and should clearly define the responsibilities of all stakeholders and decision-makers, including the Member States, the European Commission, border, customs and veterinary authorities, veterinarians and civil society organisations;
Amendment 64 #
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to build on the results of the EU Coordinated Control Plan on online sales of dogs and cats and define precise measures to address the illegal online pet trade.
Amendment 72 #
Paragraph 9
9. Is of the opinion that the illegal trafficking of companion animals could be curbed byCalls on the Member States to improvinge law enforcement and to toughening sanctions against economic operators, veterinarians and national public serviccompetent authorities - from source, transit and destination countries - who supply counterfeit pet passports in order to curb the illegal trafficking of companion animals efficiently;
Amendment 74 #
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on the Member States to apply financial penalties according to Regulation (EC) 882/2004 that outweigh the benefit sought by economic operators including breeders and sellers advertising animals online in return for economic gain and in violation of EU and national legislation;
Amendment 76 #
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to develop strategies for regulation or self-regulation of online companion animal adverts in order to stop misleading advertising and to better control the online sale of cats and dogs;
Amendment 77 #
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Calls on the Commission to introduce mandatory requirements for online platforms to conduct minimum validation checks of the identity of the users advertising pets for sale online; underlines that any potential revisions within the respective legislative framework must lead to the better protection of consumers and animals;
Amendment 85 #
Paragraph 12
Amendment 86 #
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to propose consistent and enforceable breeding rules for companion animals to be put in place across the EUmmon standards for the breeding and marketing of cats and dogs to be put in place across the EU with the aim to avoid the mis-selling thereof and unfair commercial practices, limit the continuation of breed-specific health and welfare issues and to establish a level- playing field for economic operators;
Amendment 93 #
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Welcomes the results delivered within the EU Platform on Animal Welfare and the Voluntary Initiative Subgroup on Health and Welfare of Pets in Trade; calls for the inclusion of the European Parliament and for balanced representation of civil society, competent authorities, businesses and scientists in the future work on animal welfare at the EU level, as well as for sufficient level of resources in order to ensure optimal progress;
Amendment 94 #
Paragraph 19
19. Considers that there is an urgent need for good cooperationalls on the Commission and Member States to build on and disseminate the outputs of the Voluntary Initiative Subgroup on Health and Welfare of Pets in Trade in the framework of the EU Platform on Animal Welfare and adopt measures to address the illegal trade in companion animals in forthcoming legislative and non- legislative work by 2024; considers that there is an urgent need for active cooperation and exchange of best practices between all Member States;
Amendment 95 #
Paragraph 19
19. Considers that there is an urgent need for goodswift cooperation between Member States;
Amendment 96 #
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Amendment 99 #
Paragraph 21
21. Considers thatalls on the Commission to put forward measures including the use of technologies and tailor-made training forto better equip customs and veterinary authorities to detect the smuggling of companion animals should be promoted and improved;
Amendment 100 #
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to build on the recommendations of the EU Coordinated Control Plan on online sales of dogs and cats through the development of partnerships between authorities, databases, websites and animal welfare organisations to come up with a precise measures against the misleading advertising and illegal online trade of dogs and cats;
Amendment 101 #
Draft motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Recognises the important role played by animal protection associations and NGOs in the fight against the illegal trafficking of companion animals; calls furthermore, on Member States to provide animal rescue centres and animal protection associations/NGOs with adequate financial and other material and non-material support;
Amendment 103 #
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Amendment 104 #
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Highlights the fact that there are already existing national and in some cases regional databases containing identification information on companion animals; considers that these should be used as compatible and interoperable systems interconnected between each other to allow traceability across the EU;
Amendment 105 #
Paragraph 23 b (new)
23b. Highlights that Member States should ensure staff at the borders are adequately trained in the procedures and rules that apply for the importation of companion animals from listed and unlisted third countries and are enforcing these rules;
Amendment 106 #
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Member States to carry out more awareness-raising campaigns to encourage buyers to adopt rather thaninform citizens about the negative effects of the illegal trade in companion animals and to purchase only companion animals that have been bred, kept and traded in a responsible manner and with due concern for animal welfare;