EU animal welfare organisation Eurogroup for Animals has expressed disappointment at the lack of mention of animal welfare measures in leaked draft proposals on the future Common Agriculture Policy. The documents, leaked from the European Commission ahead of publication next month do not address welfare improvements for farm animals, according to the group. image expired

Eurogroup for Animals accused the EC of failing to address the concerns of millions of EU citizens, as it does not state animal welfare as an objective of the reformed policy and propose no basic payment to be given for farmers improving welfare.

The group also criticised the Commission for reneging on its 2005 commitment to stop granting subsidies for live cattle exports to third countries, saying that because of this, associated animal welfare problems caused by long distance transport will continue.

Under current proposals for post-2013 CAP, as under the current system, states will have the option of supporting farmers who apply stricter animal welfare standards than the EU minimum, however, Europgroup for Animals said this not enough to encourage positive change in the bloc. Furthermore, the group pointed out that no specific budget has been set aside for such welfare payment.

A spokesperson said, “Even if measures are included under rural development [pillar 2], which could be used to improve farm animal welfare, such as investments or training, it is disappointing to see that the Commission has ignored the results of the public consultation carried out last year, when the majority of citizens supported the improvement of animal welfare as a public good through the CAP.”