Following a recommendation from the European Court of Auditors (i.e. Special report No 31/2018 on Animal welfare in the EU), the Commission has started an evaluation of the EU Strategy for Protection and Welfare of Animals (2012-2015).

The report, which covers the years 2012-18, notably assesses how effective, efficient and beneficial the strategy has been and whether the strategy usefully complemented national efforts in the field. Unfortunately, none of the strategy’s objectives has been fully achieved.

It notes that compliance across Member States, which are in charge of implementing the Animal Welfare legislation, remains a challenge, in particular in risk areas such as animal transport, routine tail docking of pigs and stunning. The study also flags the need to improve coherence not only with the CAP, but also with fisheries, trade, environmental and transport policies, in line with the goals of the Farm to Fork strategy. The evaluation also pointed towards the strategic use of consumer information, international cooperation and CAP as relevant tools to improve animal welfare standards both in the EU and on a global level.

The forthcoming evaluation and review of the animal welfare legislation will look at the legislative gaps identified in and after 2012 and will seek to make the animal welfare acquis more fit for purpose. As regards enforcement, special attention will be given to compliance risk areas identified by this evaluation.

The findings of the study will now feed into the on-going evaluation of the animal welfare legislation and inform any potential future initiatives in the context of Farm to Fork. The forthcoming review of the animal welfare legislation will therefore look at the legislative gaps identified in 2012 and at any new gaps that could emerge from the ongoing evaluation of the rules in force.

This evaluation draws from a study carried out by an external contractor, which applied a mixed-method approach to address the evaluation questions. The methods used included desk research, an online public consultation of 13 weeks, targeted surveys and semi-structured interviews to ensure broader coverage of stakeholders. In addition, eight case studies were carried out to further support the analysis.

Launched almost 50 years ago, the Animal Welfare policy of the EU concerns millions of animals. The EU has a substantial population of livestock including, at present, 88 million bovine animals, 148 million pigs, and around 100 million sheep and goats, as well as an estimated 4.5 billion chickens, egg-laying hens and turkeys.

The study report is published here:

Source: European Commission website

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