The European Commission yesterday announced its adoption of a new four-year strategy which aims to improve animal welfare in the European Union. The strategy aims to provide more consistent legislation, as previous legislation, which has been sector-specific, has been applied “sporadically” and resulted in an “uneven playfield”, the Commission said.

The strategy, which commissioners have claimed will be as flexible as possible to “minimise real or perceived tensions between welfare and economics”, will  introduce animal welfare elements into trade agreements in an attempt to safeguard the competitiveness of EU farmers.

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Although the strategy has been largely well received by farming unions in the UK and around Europe, animal welfare groups have expressed doubts over whether it will be effective. The groups have said that the strategy does not take into account entire species, and does not address such issues as long-distance transportand cloning animals.

The news came as German government officials announced plans to put pressure on the EU to introduce animal welfare labelling on meat products as part of a drive to improve farm animal welfare in the country. Speaking at the Green Week food fair in Berlin, German agriculture minister Ilse Aigner said, "Transparency changes buying behaviour and then the production processes and manufacturing processes."

EU legislation

The European Commission’s new strategy will take a two-pronged approach. The first of these is a proposed comprehensive animal welfare law and a reinforcement of current regulation. The Commission said this law would focus on actual welfare outcomes for animals and promote education to increase professional standards as it has identified a lack of knowledge around animal welfare and few incentives to comply in many areas.

The second element is the “reinforcement and optimisation of current Commission actions”; the Commission will take measures to strengthen Member States’ compliance with welfare laws, boost international cooperation on animal welfare issues, provide better information to consumers and conduct studies where animal welfare improvements encounter the most problems.

The Commission also proposes to introduce “science-based” animal welfare indicators, establish common rules for workers handling animals and work in harmony with reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy.  The changes will gradually come into effect between this year and 2015 and the EU will promote improved animal welfare standards in third countries.

Reaction

Although the strategy has been provisionally welcomed by farming groups including the NFU whose Brussels office said it had “lobbied the EU consistently” to improve welfare and introduce welfare requirements into trade agreements, others have warned that it remains too early to tell what changes will mean in the long-term.

NFU vice president Gwyn Jones commented to this effect, “This is a positive step by the Commission but the ‘devil will be in detail’, something which is lacking at this stage. Existing rules must be correctly implemented and enforced, and this should always be done in preference to creating new legislation or additional bureaucracy.”

European farmers’ body CopaCogeca welcomed the news, though despite Commissioner Dalli’s assurances over costs, Copa’s secretary general Pekka Pesonen criticised the strategy for failing to provide a concrete account of how the costs of improving animal welfare will be distributed along the supply chain.

Animal welfare charities have also voiced their concerns over the legislation. Farm animal welfare organisation Compassion in World Farming also contested the lack of concrete proposals and talk of ‘simplified’ legislation as claims to ‘cut red tape’ can often lead to reducing regulation; the charity said in a statement, “We fear broadly worded, imprecise legislation, lacking in legal certainty will leave farmers and enforcement officials unclear as to what does and what does not comply with the legislation.”

Compassion also said that it was “shocked” that the new strategy did not implement legislation covering dairy cows, beef cattle, rabbits or farmed fish. The RSPCA echoed the charity’s criticisms; the group has written to farming minister Jim Paice about the proposals.

Perhaps the most damning indictment of the strategy came from European animal welfare group Eurogroup for Animals, which said it was “extremely disappointed” by the Commission’s proposals. In a statement, the organisation said, “This strategy lacks any ambition and is a missed opportunity to highlight the role the EU can play in translating citizens concerns into action. Research clearly shows that European citizens care deeply about animals and expect governments to take responsibility and improve animal welfare. This strategy completely ignores this and the positive impact good animal welfare has on animal health, food safety and quality and sustainability.”

Sonja Van Tichelen, Director of Eurogroup for Animals, ellaborated, "We are extremely alarmed that despite there being no evidence that EU animal welfare policies have undermined the competiveness of EU producers the European Commission has listened to the industry and farming lobby and ignored the concerns of Europe’s citizens and the European Parliament as well as the animal welfare sector. The Commission is in effect bringing policy development to a standstill."

Last week prime minister David Cameron said that the UK had been too keen to implement new animal welfare measures and that it had cost farmers; speaking about the forthcoming ban on sow stalls, which have long been illegal in the UK, Mr Cameron said, "If we’d put in place the changes at the same time as others, our pig farmers would have had a more level playing field."

 However, Compassion in World Farming’s chief policy advisor, Peter Stevenson, rejected Mr Cameron’s statements, claiming they were a disservice to campaigners and farmers who work tirelessly to improve standards, and who enjoy massive public support. Mr Stevenson also questioned Mr Cameron’s assertions; he stated, “Industry figures show that the UK ban on sow stalls, which came into force in 1999, added just 2 pence to the cost of producing a kilo of pig meat.”

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