The first EU legislation on animal welfare was adopted in 1974 and concerned the stunning of animals before slaughter. The EU bases its animal welfare measures on five basic freedoms: freedom from discomfort; from hunger and thirst; from fear and distress; from pain, injury and disease and freedom to express natural behaviour.
On the 23rd January 2006 the Commission adopted a Community Action Plan on the Protection and Welfare of Animals. The objectives of this plan were to define more clearly the direction of Community policies on animal protection and welfare in coming years and to continue to promote high animal welfare standards in the EU and on an international level. Five main areas of action are set out to meet these objectives:
Upgrading existing minimum standards for animal protection and welfare in line with new scientific evidence and socio-economic assessments as well as possibly elaborating specific minimum standards for species or issues that are not currently addressed in EU legislation. A particular priority will be designing EU rules in order to secure efficient enforcement and to take account of rules governing international trade.
Giving a high priority to promoting policy-orientated future research on animal protection and welfare and application of the 3Rs principle: in order to respect the obligations under the EC Treaty Protocol to pay full regard to the welfare of animals in formulating and implementing these policies in parallel with enhancing the development, validation, implementation and monitoring of alternative approaches to animal testing.
Introducing standardised animal welfare indicators: to classify the hierarchy of welfare standards applied (from minimum to higher standards) in order to assist the development of improved animal welfare production and husbandry methods and to facilitate their application at EU and international levels. On this basis, opinions for EU labelling will be explored in a systematic manner.
Ensuring that animal keepers/handlers as well as the general public are more involved and informed on current standards of animal protection and welfare and fully appreciate their role in promoting animal protection and welfare. In respect of farm animals for example this could include working with retailers and producers to facilitate improved consumer trust and awareness of current farming practices and thus more informed purchasing decisions, as well as developing common initiatives in the field of animal welfare to facilitate the exchange of information and the application of best practices.
Continue to support and initiate further international initiatives to raise awareness and create a greater consensus on animal welfare, including engaging with Developing Countries to explore trade opportunities based on welfare friendly production systems. The Community should also actively identify trans-boundary problems in the area of animal welfare, relating to companion or farm animals, wildlife etc, and adopt a mechanism to tackle them in a more timely, efficient and consistent manner.
The Action Plan includes a timetable for the planned initiatives to be undertaken between 2006 and 2010.
On the 12th October 2006 the European Parliament adopted a report by German MEP Elisabeth Jeggle on animal welfare by 565 votes in favour to 79 against and 15 abstentions. The report was a response to the Commission's Action Plan. It states that, while the Parliament welcomes the Community Action Plan and its integrated approach to developing animal protection in Europe, there are concerns and, as such, the report draws attention to a number of specific points to be addressed. The report underlines the importance of research in achieving higher standards of animal welfare and calls on the Commission and the Member States to make resources available so that the objectives of the Action Plan can be fulfilled. It acknowledges the importance of widening the general knowledge base relating to animal welfare but also specifically requests research into electronic methods of animal identification and alternatives to animal testing.
The Parliament's vote is a significant step forward in the EU securing animal welfare and protection. It is the first time that animal protection has been referred to as 'an important Community goal and a permanent obligation to the EU'. The European Parliament has recognised that this issue is of great concern to millions of EU citizens and to many consumers who demand ethically acceptable products.
As well as ensuring stricter animal protection rules throughout the EU the Action Plan states the EU's desire to improve animal welfare around the world through work with international organisations such as the Council of Europe and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), while pressing for greater acceptance of animal welfare policies at World Trade Organization (WTO) level. The Action Plan states that the EU should continue to engage and assist developing countries in implementing animal welfare measures, while animal welfare standards should also be integrated into bilateral trade agreements where possible.
The Parliament's report also calls on the EU to bring an end to dog and cock fighting, although a similar plea to end bull fighting was rejected by MEPs during the vote. The report calls for a change in European policy on animal welfare which has so far almost exclusively concerned the welfare and protection of farm animals. Therefore, the report also suggests widening the scope of EU legislation on animal testing and calls on the Commission to make the ban on EU imports of wild birds permanent and to ban seal and 'cruelty products' imports.
The European Parliament, Conservative Party and I acknowledge the importance of animal protection and welfare and the role which the European Parliament can play in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to improve throughout Europe and the world. In my role as MEP for the East of England I am committed to helping achieve these goals.
