Polish carrier to lose right to transport animals from country

The State Food and Veterinary Service (VMVT) said on Wednesday it will suspend the Polish carrier Konrad's license for transporting animals to or from Lithuania after it failed to meet the animal welfare requirements while carrying a consignment of calves to Israel.

A probe will also be launched into suspected misconduct by the services' inspectors, it added.

According to the authority, an investigation has revealed that the number of calves transported out of Lithuania exceeded the capacity of the vehicles.

"It is a shame that our inspectors failed to properly evaluate the space available to the animals during the journey and to ensure that the organizer of the journey and the carrier strictly adhere to the animal welfare requirements," VMVT Director Darius Remeika.

Given the number of vehicles, space allowances for animals and temperatures during the journey, the number of animals in the consignment should have been lower than it was, the veterinary authority said.