Application for authorisation for a conveyance of animals

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Summary

Do you convey animals by virtue of your professional activity and the transport lasts more than 8 hours?

Your conveyance must have been inspected as it is a long-distance transport.
You must therefore obtain an authorisation for your conveyance. This makes it possible to check that your conveyance complies with the mandatory technical specifications within the European Union.
This authorisation is required prior to any transport! This authorisation is granted by SPW Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment (ARNE), specifically the Directorate for Quality and Animal Welfare (DQBEA).

Our directorate ensures animal welfare during transport:

preventing injuries or unnecessary suffering
ensuring adequate conditions to meet the animals’ needs during transport.

5-YEAR VALIDITY

Unless there are exceptions, this authorisation is valid for 5 years. Consult the conditions under the ‘Conditions’ section below.

As a reminder, in Wallonia you also need an authorisation as a transporter for any conveyance of animals for professional reasons.

NEED AN AUTHORISATION?

Do you want to apply for an authorisation for your conveyance of animals or renew or change your current authorisation? Please refer to the procedure below.

In detail

Target audience – details

Any natural or legal person conveying animals:

for their own account: as part of a commercial activity (with BCE number)
on behalf of a third party: as part of a professional activity (in particular salaried activity) where the conveyance of animals is necessary to the pursuit of this activity

Some examples:

you are specialised in the conveyance of animals
you are a livestock merchant
you are a breeder going to an exhibition, a competition, etc.
you transport animals by virtue of travelling shows

You MUST NOT apply for authorisation in the following cases:

you are a private individual transporting your dogs or those of your friends/family
you are a private individual transporting your horse for leisure or sport
you are transporting animals to or from a veterinary practice/clinic, following veterinary referral
you are a breeder transporting your animals with your own conveyance within a radius of 50 km from your holding

Conditions

!! This application for authorisation only concerns long-distance transport of a minimum of 8 hours.

See in detail Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004

Vehicle requirements vary according to the type of animals transported:

for example, for unregistered equidae, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs: navigation system to record transport data which must be kept for 3 years
other example would be for domestic equidae, cattle, sheep, goats and pigs: temperature monitoring and warning system + recording of data which must be able to be presented on demand of the competent authority + ventilation system (60 m³/h/KN of payload, capable of operating for at least 4 hours independently of the vehicle engine)
for all: the conveyance must have a light-coloured and insulated roof, a ‘live animals’ sign (on the vehicle or containers)

As a general rule, the conveyance of animals must comply with the following conditions:

all the necessary arrangements have been made in advance to keep the duration of the journey to a minimum and to meet the needs of the animals during the journey
the animals must be sufficiently fit to undertake the intended journey
the conveyance must be designed, constructed, maintained and used in such a way as to avoid physical harm and pain and suffering to the animals and to ensure their safety
the loading and unloading equipment must be designed, built, maintained and used properly so as to avoid physical harm and pain and suffering to the animals and to ensure their safety
the staff handling the animals must have the necessary training or skills to do so and carry out their tasks without resorting to violence or methods that could unnecessarily frighten the animals or cause them unnecessary physical harm or pain and suffering. Staff must not have committed a serious breach of animal welfare legislation in the 3 years preceding the date of your application
the transport is carried out without delay to the destination and the welfare conditions of the animals are regularly monitored and properly maintained
sufficient floor area and height are provided for the animals, taking into account their size and the planned journey
water, food and rest periods are offered to the animals at regular intervals and are adapted, in quality and quantity, to their species and size

Procedure

The application can be submitted in French or German. The application is free of charge.

Complete the authorisation application form (.docx), available under the ‘Forms’ section below
Send us the completed form
- either by email: transportanimaux.dgo3@spw.wallonie.be with the subject "Transport – Application for authorisation"
- or by post: SPW ARNE - Direction de la Qualité et du Bien-être Animal - Chaussée de Louvain, 14 - 5000 Namur
Follow-up: if your application is complete, we will contact you within 30 days to make an appointment to inspect your conveyance.
Following the field visit, if your vehicle is compliant, you will receive your authorisation within 30 days.
Your authorisation is valid for 5 years. Exception: 1-month validity for the transport of exotic animals that is not carried out by an animal park.

INFORMATION AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS TO BE PROVIDED TO US

Photos of each conveyance (interior and exterior)
Active authorisation number (valid for 5 years)
Type of vehicle
Brand and model
Registration number
Chassis number
Navigation system: GPS: Yes - No
Undertaking that no application for authorisation has been made to any other (Belgian or European) competent authority
Species transported

Legal references

Voie de recours

LODGING AN APPEAL

Application for annulment

Annulment of a decision may be requested by applying to the Council of State [Conseil d’État] either:

by electronic means
by registered letter, dated and signed, to: Conseil d’État – Greffe – Section du Contentieux administratif – Rue de la Science, 33 – 1040 Brussels

You must submit your request within 60 calendar days from the date of notification of the contested decision.
It is up to you to set out in your application the ‘grounds’ for your appeal, i.e. the rules of law that have been infringed by the decision and the way in which they have been infringed.

Request for suspension

Sending an application for annulment does not suspend the effects of the decision. Therefore, if there is an urgency incompatible with the processing of the case for annulment and if there is a serious argument that is clearly likely to lead to annulment, you may apply to the Council of State for the decision to be suspended.

The request for suspension may be submitted before, at the same time or after the application for annulment is sent. In exceptional cases and under special conditions, you may also request suspension of the decision on grounds of extreme urgency.

Practical information

The application for annulment and the request for suspension are valid only if they contain certain annexes and information. Consult the ‘Procedure’ section of the Council of State website.
Each appellant must pay a fee of EUR 200 (amount as at 7 June 2017) in principle per request / application by means of a bank transfer form which will be sent to them after receipt of the appeal. There is currently no time limit for payment, and the sum can therefore be paid any time before the close of proceedings.