The Animal Transportation Association (ATA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the safe and humane

transportation of animals The transportation of animals is the intentional movement of non-human animals by transport. Common categories of animals which are transported include livestock destined for sale or slaughter; zoological specimens; laboratory animals; race ho ...

worldwide. The organization advocates for uniform and effective international regulations for the humane handling of live animals, and involves members in finding solutions to a variety of problems related to the transport of animals. Members are linked to information, resources, contacts and key developments in the field to help them provide better services and conditions for animals in transit.

History

The organization was founded as the Animal Air Transportation Association in 1976 in response to the concerns of industry leaders, government officials, and humane association representatives about the safe and humane transportation of livestock, zoo animals and other animal requiring transportation. The name was changed to the current name in 1989, to emphasize that

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

and

land transport Land transport is the transport or movement of people, animals or goods from one location to another location on land. This is in contrast with other main types of transport such as maritime transport and aviation. The two main forms of land tr ...

are of equal importance in the safe and humane transport of animals.

Membership

Members of the ATA include

airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in ...

truckers A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; an HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

, shipping firms, government agencies throughout the world,

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

research Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...

organizations,

breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed, to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist ...

import An importer is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. Import is part of the International Trade which involves buying and receivin ...

ers,

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...

ers,

veterinarians A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

, and others interested in the transportation of live animals.

Policies

Members must adhere to the organization's statement of policies, which includes features like agreeing to engage in advocacy for "the establishment of an animal protection office at principal ports and terminals where live animals are handled", and agreeing that "our first consideration is the safe, humane, and expeditious handling of any animals under our care".

Annual conference

An annual conference is held to discuss animal transportation issues. The 2013 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, discussed a variety of issues including risk management and emergency planning; hot and cold weather transport of animals; incorporating

biosecurity Biosecurity refers to measures aimed at preventing the introduction or spread of harmful organisms (e.g. viruses, bacteria, plants, animals etc.) intentionally or unintentionally outside their native range or within new environments. In agricult ...

into lab animal transport; and transporting police and military dogs."2013 Las Vegas"
ATA, accessed August 25, 2014.

References

{{Reflist, 2 , refs= "The Animal Transportation Association"
ATA, accessed August 26, 2014. "ATA Statement of Policies"
ATA, accessed August 26, 2014.

External links