On Friday 19 September, the European Commission launched a public consultation to gather opinions on the revision of EU legislation on on-farm animal welfare, an initiative aimed at modernising standards and meeting the growing expectations of citizens and stakeholders in the sector.
The Commission plans to present a first legislative proposal by the end of 2026. This text will be based on scientific data, in particular that provided by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and will take account of the results of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) ‘End the Cage Age’, which collected over a million signatures in favour of banning cages for farm animals.
The EU Council and the European Parliament are already negotiating on the proposal concerning animal transport (see EUROPE 13649/9).
The European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi, stated that “Modernising some of our animal welfare rules is a clear expectation of our citizens. To address this request, while ensuring European farmers stay competitive, we seek the views of all interested parties. We need everyone around the table to come up with viable and future-proof solutions based on robust evidence”.
The consultation, which can be accessed via the ‘Have your Say’ portal (https://aeur.eu/f/iih ), will remain open until 12 December. The results will feed into the Commission’s work, which will also address the issue of animal welfare standards relating to products imported into the EU. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)