A Web-based geographic information system for monitoring animal welfare during long journeys.

Animal welfare protection during long journeys is mandatory according to European Union regulations designed to ensure that animals are transported in accordance with animal welfare requirements and to provide control bodies with a regulatory tool to react promptly in cases of non-compliance and to ensure a safe network between products, animals and farms. Regulation 1/2005/EC foresees recourse to a system of traceability within European Union member states. The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC) has developed a prototype system fulfilling the requirements of the Regulation which is able to monitor compliance with animal welfare requirements during transportation, register electronic identification of transported animals and store data in a central database shared with the other member states through a Web-based application. Test equipment has recently been installed on a vehicle that records data on vehicle position (geographic coordinates, date/time) and animal welfare conditions (measurements of internal temperature of the vehicle, etc.). The information is recorded at fixed intervals and transmitted to the central database. The authors describe the Web-based geographic information system, through which authorised users can visualise instantly the real-time position of the vehicle, monitor the sensor-recorded data and follow the time-space path of the truck during journeys.