EU’s farmed animal welfare rules need ‘serious and extensive review’
The European approach to animal welfare has recently been the subject of a renewed debate. The pandemic has stressed the importance of a strong and sustainable food system and highlighted the links between our health, ecosystems, supply chains, and consumption patterns. Notably the one with farmed animals.
COVID-19 and climate change have alerted us of the need for a systematic change in the treatment of animals, says Inês Ajuda, farmed animals programme leader at Eurogroup for Animals.
Polls across the block confirm our interest in the well-being of farmed animals.
The pandemic has stressed the importance of a strong and sustainable food system and highlighted the links between our health, ecosystems, supply chains, and consumption patterns. Notably the one with farmed animals.
COVID-19 and climate change have alerted us of the need for a systematic change in the treatment of animals, says Inês Ajuda, farmed animals programme leader at Eurogroup for Animals.
Polls across the block confirm our interest in the well-being of farmed animals.
“The welfare of farmed animals is a shared concern for Europeans and it is part of our shared identity to ensure that farmed animals have a life worth living,” says Olga Kikou, head of the charity Compassion in World Farming.
Three members of the European Commission have reacted positively to a public petition requesting the phase-out of cage rearing in the EU, expressing support to the initiative.
On Thursday (15 April), promoters of the European Citizens Initiative (ECI) “End of cage age” presented the campaign before European lawmakers at a joint public hearing of the European Parliament’s petition (PETI) and agriculture (AGRI) committees.
Citizen initiatives allow petitions that reach the one million signatures threshold to be discussed by the European Commission, which can decide to put forward a legislative proposal on the matter.
With 1.4 million signatures from more than 18 member states, campaigners for the “End of cage age” met the requirements and are now waiting for the Commission’s response.
This week, MEPs debated a citizens’ initiative to ban the use of caged farming in the EU.
The public hearing was organised jointly by the European Parliament’s Agriculture and Petitions Committees on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) ‘End the Cage Age’, which has been welcomed and supported by Agriculture Committee chair Norbert Lins.
“Animal welfare can be improved in the EU,” he said.
“It is of utmost importance that before planning any radical shift [to fully cage-free housing], we need to analyse the cost of such a change [and] think about providing sufficient financial support, compensation or other incentives to the farmers.”
Over a million EU citizens back farm-animal cage ban
Only Austria, Luxembourg, Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands have some limits on the use of cages in national law (Photo: Compassion in World Farming)
Brussels, Today, 07:21
More than 1.4 million citizens across all EU member states have called on the European Commission to ban keeping farmed animals in cages - arguing the practice is cruel and unnecessary.
The European Citizens initiative End the Cage Age launched by British NGO Compassion in World Farming in 2018, is supported by other 170 environmental and animal welfare organisations from across Europe, food companies and scientists.
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