The European Commission decided on Wednesday 22 March to register a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) entitled ‘End The Horse Slaughter Age’.
The organisers of the initiative call on the Commission to propose a law banning the slaughter of horses, including their breeding and export for the production of fur, leather or meat or for the manufacture of medicines and other substances. They also call for a ban on the long-distance transport of horses across Europe for slaughter and for the protection of horses from excess work or hard training.
The decision to register is of a legal nature and it does not prejudge the final legal and political conclusions of the Commission on this initiative and the action it will intend to take, if any, in case the initiative obtains the necessary support. The Commission considers that the ECI is legally admissible. At this stage, the Commission has not analysed the substance of the proposal.
The organisers have 6 months to start the signature collection process. If, within a year, the ECI receives one million statements of support from at least seven different Member States, the Commission will have to react. It could decide whether or not to grant the request and would have to give reasons for its decision. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)