Photo by Suzanne Tucker on Unsplash
Campaign group Compassion in World Farming is calling for improved animal welfare at EU level.
It wants European lawmakers to ensure that such action is central to the new Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare’s role in the new mandate and not just to the job title, in the confirmation hearings which start this week (4 November).
The NGO is urging MEPs to ensure that the next set of Commissioners is fully dedicated to delivering the ban on caged animal farming it promised.
It also wants them to “align EU animal welfare legislation with the latest scientific evidence by 2026 at the very latest”, as recommended by the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the EU Agriculture.
In answer to written questions ahead of the hearings, Animal Welfare Commissioner-candidate Olivér Várhelyi, committed to following up on the End the Cage Age ECIand modernising rules on animal welfare to match the latest science.
But the group says he failed to provide a clear timeline.
A spokesman said “While Compassion welcomes this commitment, it expects more ambition and clarity on the files pending to deliver on its promises.”
“This includes the ban on caged animal farming, the review of EU animal welfare laws as well as on the delivery of species-specific legislation laying down minimum standards for the protection of laying hens, broilers, pigs, calves, rabbits and fishes.”
The NGO also wants the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to be reviewed to align with these objectives and provide support for farmers who commit to phasing out cages, improving welfare standards and promoting regenerative agriculture.
Vinciane Patelou, Head of EU at Compassion in World Farming, said: “For the first time, animal welfare is central to a Commissioner’s title, matching citizens’ demands for better animal welfare standards, but this cannot be just window dressing.”
Patelou added, “The previous executive failed EU citizens and science by not delivering the proposals it promised to ban cages and review the block’s animal welfare legislation in the last term.”
“During these hearings, it must become crystal-clear that the title matches the ambitions and that presenting the long-awaited animal welfare proposals will be a key priority early in the mandate, in line with the recommendations of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture.”
“MEPs, as democratically elected representatives, must speak up during the Commissioner hearings for the millions of animals farmed in the EU and ensure citizens demanding better animal welfare standards and a ban on cages are not let down again.”
In response to the successful End the Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative, signed by over 1.4 million EU citizens and led by Compassion in World Farming, the European Commission made a commitment in 2021 to introduce legislative proposals by 2023 to end caged farming by 2027.
It also announced it would ensure all imported products in the EU comply with future cage-free standards. The Compassion in World Farming spokesman expressed regret that the previous Commission had failed to deliver a proposal to ban cages.
