On 31 March, the European Commission published a report which shows that the 2012-2015 EU Strategy for Protection and Welfare of Animals has produced mixed results.
The evaluation, which covers the period 2012-2018 (as some actions of the 2012-2015 strategy continued until 2018), showed that the majority of problems and drivers identified by the strategy as relevant in 2012 are still relevant today. A remaining challenge is the need to improve compliance across Member States in some risk areas, such as in animal transport, routine tail docking of pigs or certain stunning methods, the report says.
The Commission points out that the new Official Controls Regulation offers the tools to address some of the problems of compliance with animal welfare legislation.
Other challenges cited include the need to provide consumers with information on animal welfare and the need to strengthen international cooperation to overcome “the reluctance of some third countries to adopt animal welfare standards comparable to the ones applicable in the EU”.
The strategy has helped establish common priorities that have led to improvements in animal welfare across the EU, the report says. It has also helped to enforce EU legislation in specific areas (i.e. group housing of sows and protection of laying hens). However, “none of the strategy’s objectives has been fully achieved”, the report concludes.
Link to the evaluation report: https://bit.ly/3sXlBLD (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)