Brussels, 15/09/2008 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is due, on Thursday 18 September, to adopt a proposal on animal protection at the time of their slaughter. The proposal, which was prepared by DG Health and Consumer Affairs, also seeks to ensure equal conditions of competition, for abattoirs and other operators involved in the slaughter of animals for agricultural production. It also seeks to encourage innovation in the sector and simplify existing legislation. The proposal will replace Council directive 93/119/EC on protection of animals at the time of slaughter or killing.
Every year, nearly 360 million pigs, sheep, goats and cattle and over four billion fowl are killed in slaughterhouses in the European Union. In addition, 25 million animals are killed every year for the European fur industry, and 330 million day-old chicks are killed in their hatcheries. Millions of animals may also have to be put to death to combat contagious diseases. The Commission has noted that animal protection is not of a uniformly high standard across member states and sometimes can be very unsatisfactory. Furthermore, the various requirements imposed on abattoirs and makers of stunning equipment in member states do guarantee equal conditions of competition for these competitors, yet they are competing in a globalised market.
To resolve the problems noted and adapt Community legislation to the new situation, the proposal makes a number of suggestions. It would require each member state to set up a national reference centre to provide technical assistance on animal welfare at the time of slaughter. These centres would also carry out scientific assessment of new stunning techniques and equipment, and also of new abattoirs, and would approve the bodies which issue animal welfare certificates of competence. The draft legislation would require anyone responsible for stunning or slaughtering animals to monitor the procedure being carried out, regularly checking that the animals are indeed unconscious until their death. It would require staff responsible for accepting delivery of and/or slaughtering the animals to have a certificate of competence. This requirement would apply both to the abattoirs and to those supervising the slaughter of animals for their fur. The new legislation would increase operators' responsibility with regard to animal welfare, requiring that standardised operating procedures be put in place, a move that chimes with the “health package”, a raft of legislative measures on food safety adopted in 2004. This approach is also in line with the Community action plan for the protection and welfare of animals which introduced the idea of animal welfare indicators. The proposed legislation would introduce new obligations on abattoir infrastructure and fixed equipment, which take account of technical advances in this area. To avoid any further red tape, these obligations would be built into the abattoir approval procedure already put in place by the food safety legislation. The new legislation would provide a very careful definition of stunning methods. It would also put in place a common system for approving new stunning methods.
The staff of Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou say that the proposal does not significantly alter the scope of existing legislation on the slaughter of farmed animals in or outside abattoirs (fur farms, slaughter of animals to combat the spread of illnesses, etc). It will not apply to reptiles or amphibians. The text presented also retains the possibility of granting exemptions on stunning during slaughter according to religious rites, although member states will be able to be more restrictive. The impact analysis says that the proposals work towards the targets without affecting the competitiveness of the sectors involved, given some specific arrangements (transition periods, possible exemptions for some farms). (L.C./transl.rt)