The request was addressed to the chairman of the Agriculture and Sea Commission.

"The PAN Parliamentary Group hereby requests the hearing of the Minister of Agriculture, as a matter of urgency, with a view to providing clarifications on the transport of live animals to third countries", the document reads.

The three deputies of People-Animals-Nature consider that "the transport of live animals, by land or sea, is a serious problem and that concerns thousands of citizens due to issues related to animal welfare".

"Unfortunately, we continue to see several complaints in the news related to non-compliance with animal welfare rules with regard, mainly to the transport of live animals by sea, originating in Portugal and destined for countries like Israel and others", they also point out, regretting that "measures are not taken to ensure compliance with legislation and to safeguard animal welfare".

In this context, PAN points out that "the most recent cases revealed absolutely shocking images of animals transported from Portugal who arrived at their destination injured, huddled on top of each other, covered in blood and some of them dead".

According to PAN, "the ships that carry out the transport of these animals themselves leave serious doubts about the conditions of transport and safety, and there are even cases of ships prevented from operating in Portugal that appear again in ports with another name, which does increase doubts in public opinion about the way in which this type of transport is inspected ".

"The cases found in the last few months are worrying", said the PAN party, arguing that they are contrary to the law that recognises that animals are 'living beings endowed with sensitivity and an object of legal protection due to their nature".