Vyborny Slams Slovak Animal Transport, Calls It Threat to Czech Republic

Prague, March 27 (TASR-correspondent) - Czech Agriculture Minister Marek Vyborny on Thursday criticised the use of inadequately sealed vehicles for transporting the animals euthanised due to foot-and-mouth disease in Slovakia, stating that he's called Slovak Agriculture Minister Richard Takac in an effort to prevent such incidents in the future, TASR learnt from its special correspondent in Prague on the same day. "The responsible behaviour in the Czech Republic differs from what we can see in some neighbouring countries, where not everything is being done as it should when it comes to the transport [of infected euthanised animals]. Unfortunately, this isn't just a threat to Slovak farmers, but to us as well," said Vyborny, adding that he's shared this concern with his Slovak counterpart Richard Takac. "I asked him to ensure that the incidents that we've witnessed in recent days — such as the transport of euthanised animals in vehicles that aren't properly sealed — don't happen again. Even the fact that such a vehicle is moving relatively close to the state border is seen as a threat," emphasised the Czech minister. On Wednesday, March 26, videos emerged showing a number of lorries transporting euthanised animals with their tops partly opened. Takac responded to this, stating that the vehicles set off with sealed containers but that a technical failure probably occurred during the journey. lin/df