The European Institute for Animal Law & Policy and Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) EU presented a webinar on EU farm animal welfare legislation on March 1st. The event was co-hosted by three Members of the European Parliament (MEPs): Anja Hazekamp (GUE/NGL, NL), Sylwia Spurek (The Greens, PL), and Michal Wiezik (Renew Europe, SK). MEP […]
The European Institute for Animal Law & Policy and Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) EU presented a webinar on EU farm animal welfare legislation on March 1st. The event was co-hosted by three Members of the European Parliament (MEPs): Anja Hazekamp (GUE/NGL, NL), Sylwia Spurek (The Greens, PL), and Michal Wiezik (Renew Europe, SK).
MEP Anja Hazekamp opened the event by calling for clear, strong, species-specific European legislation based on scientific evidence, and for more independence in lawmaking from private interest lobbies.
Alice Di Concetto, legal advisor and founder of the European Institute for Animal Law & Policy, presented the Institute’s latest white paper “For a More Humane Union: A Legal Analysis of EU Farm Animal Welfare Laws,” which is the first comprehensive review of EU farm animal welfare legislation. Di Concetto presented the impetus for drafting the report, as well as its content. She gave a detailed account of the history of EU farm animal welfare legislation and the current regulatory framework, and she offered legal recommendations to overcome the legislation’s current shortcomings.
In the first panel, moderated by Elliot Teperman (Jeremy Coller Foundation), Olga Kikou (CIWF EU) highlighted the demand among European citizens for more farm animal protection. Olga Kikou presented the increasingly high number of scientific findings, publications, petitions to the European Parliament, and public consultations on the topic of farm animal welfare as evidence of a growing interest in animal protection issues among the scientific community and the public.
Angie van Dijk, a legal advisor at the Dutch organization Wakker Dier, and Manuela Giacomini, an attorney at Conte & Giacomini in Genova, Italy, then presented on enforcement issues of the EU farm animal laws, both at EU and Member State levels. During the Q&A session, both panelists agreed that the best way for the European Commission to compel Member States to enforce current EU animal welfare laws is to open infringement procedures in cases of non-compliance. So far, none have been opened on the topic of animal welfare even though multiple breaches have been evidenced, including by the European Commission’s own audit services.
The second panel was moderated by Eddy Wax (Politico Europe). Danielle Duffield, an attorney specializing in international arbitration in the United Kingdom (Baker Botts), presented the recent developments in New Zealand’s farm animal welfare legislation. Duffield mentioned New Zealand’s recent bans on live animal exports which will enter into effect by April 2023, and will encompass farrowing crates for pigs, by December 2025.
Christian Juliusson, from the European Commission’s DG Sante, discussed the use of the Better Regulation rules, which can be used to achieve more transparent policymaking, which is particularly relevant to farm animal welfare. Andrea Gavinelli, Head of the Animal Welfare Unit in the European Commission, spoke on how the European Green Deal aims to improve policy coherence on the matter by presenting the 2030 targets for sustainable food production.
Finally, in his concluding remarks, MEP Michal Wiezik (Renew Europe, SK) emphasized that the fight for farm animal welfare must not be neglected, even in these challenging times.
Our Legislative Advocacy Manager, Gabriela Kubíková, has been quoted in an article by Zach Boren, “Inside Big Ag’s plot to kill the EU Green Deal”. The article reveals how Copa Cogeca, the federation of European farming interests, undermined and pushed back against the EU’s green farming commitments – including by using delay tactics to slow the lawmaking process.
We’re one of the NGOs included in Food Ingredients First’s coverage of the Livestock Strategy. “The European Institute for Animal Law & Policy struck a […] cautious tone,” they write. “It noted that the strategy “creates no legal obligations” by itself and that the cage phase-out is not yet dated. Still, it welcomed the fact that there are now concrete dates for legislative proposals.”
The European Commission revealed its Livestock Strategy today, adding yet another document to the Commission’s announced reforms for farmed animals. But announcements alone will not improve the lives of animals. We will continue the fight, with other animal advocates and concerned citizens, to make sure the Commission follows through on today’s announced reforms.
