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The RHA's Livestock Carriers Group has welcomed new EU regulations tightening live animal transport but warns that proper enforcement is necessary. Under the stricter rules, which have just come into force, all lorries used for the transport of live animals are to be fitted with satellite navigation by 2009 to make sure that hours rules and rest breaks are being followed. Driver training will also be compulsory instead of voluntary. Lorries used to carry cattle for eight hours or more must be  licensed to ensure they are equipped with drinking systems and temperature monitors. The RHA says there is a derogation for vehicles travelling less than 12 hours in the UK, but this might change as the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs is monitoring the situation, says Roger Wrapson, secretary for the RHA's Livestock Carriers Group.

"The new rules raise the level of professionalism that is needed for the industry. The key is the recognition of training which will be compulsory - in the past it has been done on a voluntary, self-certification basis," Wrapson says. He stresses that proper enforcement is essential. "This has to be properly policed as everyone has to do it. The livestock sector has an extremely good record but there have been high profile cases which have given the industry a bad name." Nothing has been done under the EU rules to restrict the length of journey times, and animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming says it will continue to  campaign for a ban on live transports lasting more than eight hours. But Wrapson says: "We think current journey times are okay as there is no evidence to suggest that animals are suffering as a result."