Thank you for the question.
There is no doubt that access to regional abattoirs could vastly improve the situation. Another direction was taken with the decision to close many of them. That is why the regulations need to be eased a bit to make it possible to reopen some of the regional abattoirs.
We are certainly in favour of the transportation regulations. What we are asking for is to ease them somewhat to buffer against the unpredictabilities. Livestock transporters have animal welfare at heart. They plan their work for things to go smoothly, in compliance with the law.
However, when something unforeseen happens, the animals should not have to suffer because of the regulations. That is why we are calling for some flexibility in the regulations, which should be aligned with those in the United States. In that country, there is some flexibility with respect to on-duty time for livestock haulers within a 240 km radius of departure and destination sites.