February 25, 2010

EU council backs better welfare labels

At its meeting on Monday (Feb 22), the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council agreed that consumers need more information to make purchasing decisions based on animal welfare.

The Agriculture and Fisheries Council held an exchange of views on the Commission's report Options for animal welfare labelling and the establishment of a European Network of Reference Centres for the protection and welfare of animals.

Ministers in general agreed that information about animal welfare in livestock production could enable consumers to make informed purchasing decisions and help EU farmers to obtain the desired recompense for their efforts. At the same time, ministers made it clear that any welfare information system would have to be simple and easy to understand, as well as in line with the rules of the WTO.

The need to avoid an increase of production costs as well as of the administrative and control burden were also highlighted, stressing the need to evaluate how to cover imported products.

Meanwhile, a label to recognise animal welfare levels going beyond the legal minimum standards was also urged at the meeting.

However, several ministers insisted that such a label shall not lead to a depreciation of food produced in accordance with the legal minimum standards for animal welfare nor to complicate existing standards such as on organic farming.