April 21, 2021

 

EU MEPs discuss move to end caging of farming animals

 

 

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have debated a citizens' initiative to ban the use of cages for farm animals on April 15, together with organisers of the End the Cage Age initiative, commissioners and representatives of other EU bodies.

 

The public hearing - organised jointly by the parliament's Agriculture and Petitions committees - on the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) "End the Cage Age" was opened by committee chairs Norbert Lins and Dolors Montserrat alongside Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová.

 

"I welcome and support this initiative. Animal welfare can be improved in the EU," said Lins. "It is of utmost importance that... before planning any radical shift [to fully cage-free housing], we need to analyse the cost of such a change… (and) think about providing sufficient financial support, compensation or other incentives to the farmers."

 

"This is the sixth ECI to succeed among 76 registered initiatives in the last eight years. It represents the third-highest number of signatures ever collected and the first valid ECI for farmed animal welfare," said Montserrat. "It has been submitted at a time where intensive animal husbandry is seeing greater public scrutiny and it demands that the EU make more [policy] changes."

 

"The Commission attaches the highest importance to ideas submitted via the European citizens' initiative instrument and... it takes all successful initiatives very seriously," Commission vice-president Věra Jourová said, stressing that "citizens' initiatives can and do generate long-term effects on EU policies."

 

Following the introductory statements, ECI organisers Olga Kikou and Leopoldine Charbonneaux presented the initiative's objectives, specifically to end the use of cages for a number of species, including laying hens, rabbits, pullets, quail, ducks and geese, sows in sow stalls and farrowing crates and individual calf pens.

 

"Instead of using cages, we call on the EU to... move to alternative systems, which are already in existence, such as barns, organic systems, free range or free farrowing," said Kikou. She stressed that farmers need to be provided with financial support to transition to cage-free farming and that imported products from non-EU countries must also meet EU animal welfare standards.

 

"Animal welfare concerns lie at the heart of the EU's Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy", said Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides. "We are very much aware that we need to do more", she added, pointing to the fitness check being carried out on existing EU animal welfare legislation. "We will use the results of [this] check to propose new legislation by 2023."

 

"The European Commission truly wants to improve animal welfare (which is) at the very heart of the Green Deal," said Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski who stressed that the initiative has his "full support". He called for more EU farm policy money to be used to improve animal welfare and insisted that "our trade partners accept the same... or equivalent standards".

 

MEPs highlighted the importance of listening and acting on citizens' concerns on animal welfare.

 

However, any potential phase-out of caged farming requires proper financial support, incentives and an adequate transition period, many insisted.

 

They also called for strict and efficient measures to avoid imports of cheaper products with lower animal welfare standards from non-EU countries.

 

- The Poultry Site