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The Farm to Fork Strategy announced that the European Commission will, in 2023, revise the EU animal welfare legislation to align it with the latest available scientific evidence to ensure a higher level of animal welfare. In this context, the Commission organized on 9 December 2021 a high-level stakeholder conference on “EU animal welfare – today & tomorrow” to collect views of all stakeholders in order to feed both the fitness check and the impact assessment that will support the legislative proposal.
The panel discussion on labelling highlighted that there is currently a plethora of different animal welfare labelling schemes and that there might be a need to rationalise and simplify this landscape to increase transparency. Some stakeholders stressed that a multi-tier system with scores would make it easier for consumers to compare and choose products with higher animal welfare premium. Others insisted that any animal welfare label needs to be accompanied by a powerful information campaign for it to have an impact.
The panel discussions on on-farm welfare and the phasing out of cages highlighted the key role of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to foster better conditions for farmed animals and the need for Member States to reap the opportunities provided by the new CAP in this area, notably by using eco-schemes for such measures. Most participants were in favour of requiring equivalent welfare rules at import into the EU. The need to provide education to farmers on how best to handle animals and to better evaluate animal welfare, in particular in intensive systems, were noted.
In the panel discussion on welfare at the time of slaughter/killing, speakers considered that certain stunning methods have negative welfare consequences and that there is a need to assess whether commercially viable alternatives with better welfare outcomes are available. Several agreed that slaughter equipment should be approved at EU level and considered that banning the use of electric prods might have implications on workers’ safety when handling large animals.
Finally, the panel discussion on welfare during transport revealed different views on the extent to which long-distance transport should be restricted. Most participants agreed that the welfare conditions during such transport were difficult to control, especially in exports to non-EU countries. A discussion took place on whether transporting meat and genetic material was a real alternative to transporting live animals.
In terms of next steps, the Commission aims to publish the fitness check mid-2022, the relevant EFSA opinions are expected between mid-2022 and early 2023, and the impact assessment should be finalised at the beginning of 2023, with the objective to adopt the legislative proposals during the same year.
January 11, 2022/ Council of the European Union/ European Union.
https://data.consilium.europa.eu
