The EU has taken steps to tighten the movement of live cattle by proposing strict controls on lairage operations.
The controls on the lairage, or resting places, come as a result of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease last year which was spread at some of those facilities.
Draft regulations governing the use of the resting places for animals in transit were published in Brussels earlier this week, and the Commission wants them in place by January 1st next.
The regulations propose that the facilities should be used at one time only for animals certified as being from the same herd of origin. They will specify premises for each species, which will have to be disinfected, and before accepting animals the posts will have to be cleared.
Extra documentation will have to be supplied and there will be an onus on the exporter to notify the authorities within 24 hours of departure that animals are on the move.
The EU's Animal Welfare Committee has proposed that animals should not be unloaded at all from vehicles at rest points, but the stocking densities on vehicles should be such as to allow animals space for resting, feeding and watering.
The committee also wants a ban on sea crossings if winds of force 5 or more are forecast.