The European Commission indicated on Thursday, 14 March in Strasbourg, during a debate in the European Parliament on fish welfare, that it did not wish to propose specific requirements to improve the welfare of farmed fish in aquaculture.
“The lack of action is no longer justified”, said Eleonora Evi (EFDD, Italy), who, along with other MEPs, asked an oral question on the welfare of fish in aquaculture. She deplored the lack of measures to reduce suffering before slaughter and the failure to comply with transport standards. “Does the Commission intend to commit itself to introducing legislative requirements on the welfare of animals in aquaculture?”
Commissioner Neven Mimica, on behalf of the Commission, replied in the negative, stressing that “Member States might be more suited to developing good practices in their national context”. However, he assured that the institution would “continue to work on the welfare of farmed fish”. Finally, the Commissioner recalled that a report published a year ago concluded that at this stage “it is not appropriate to propose specific requirements on the welfare of fish at the time of killing”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)