Strategic Pathways for Animal Welfare Reform within the EU

11 minute learn

It is a visitor weblog publish. All opinions are that of the visitor blogger.

Proper now, 300 million farmed animals throughout the European Union are confined to cages¹. Because the world’s  third-largest meat producer², the EU accounts for about 8% of all land animals slaughtered globally,³ with farms rearing 74 million cows, 133 million pigs, 68 million sheep and goats, and a number of other billions birds in 2023.⁴ Past home consumption, the EU can be a serious participant in worldwide commerce, with 1.6 billion stay animals transported amongst member states, and to or from non-EU international locations, between 2017 and 2021.⁵

At this time, the EU stands getting ready to a historic alternative to remodel its animal welfare laws into essentially the most superior on the planet. Following a missed alternative in late 2023, a brand new political window has opened for vital reforms, together with the phase-out of cages and the ban on systematic killing of chicks and ducklings.

The present scale of cage confinement stays intensive. As of 2024, roughly 38% of the EU’s laying hens (155 million hens) are nonetheless housed in cages. The state of affairs is extra extreme for different species: an estimated 94% of farmed rabbits (72 million people) and 96% of breeding sows (10 million pigs) are stored in confined situations for a lot of their lives.⁶

Animals in cages are extraordinarily constrained and infrequently have little to no alternative to specific their pure behaviours. Hens are unable to dust-bathe, perch, forage or absolutely unfold their wings; rabbits can not hop or dig; and sows are continuously stored in stalls so small they can’t even flip round and take correct care of their piglets. In lots of instances, these cages are overcrowded, resulting in elevated stress, aggression, and the unfold of illness.⁷ In different situations, animals could also be housed in isolation and disadvantaged of important social interplay. The European Meals Security Authority, the EU’s central scientific physique, has itself beneficial ending cage use for breeding hens, geese, geese, quails, and sows in its newest experiences.⁸ 

These practices not solely elevate severe moral considerations throughout the EU but in addition underscore the Union’s accountability to drive change nicely past its borders. The EU has a selected skill to exert such affect due to what’s referred to as the “Brussels Impact.” Because of the EU’s huge market and regulatory affect, stricter requirements adopted throughout the EU typically ripple outward, prompting world producers to lift their requirements to take care of entry to European shoppers. Particularly, introducing mirror clauses, which require imported merchandise to adjust to the identical requirements as these enforced throughout the EU, may very well be a robust technique of enhancing animal welfare internationally. Such measures can also assist bridge the pursuits of farmers and animal advocates, since they might make sure that farmers aren’t uncovered to competitors from much less regulated markets⁹.

European advocates are mobilizing to fulfill the problem. They’re energetic at numerous ranges, in Brussels and throughout their house international locations, working via the Eurogroup for Animals and forming advert hoc coalitions. A number of campaigns are pressuring European Establishments for bold laws: ActForAnimals.eu¹⁰ led by Animal Society, #ForwardForAnimals¹¹ led by the Eurogroup for Animals, and Uncage The Legislation¹² coordinated by the L214 with eight associate organizations. Given the shortage of sources, the magnitude of the stakes, and this slim window of alternative, we, as a motion, should assume strategically and act accordingly. That’s the reason, in 2024 and 2025, Animal Society has consulted with advocates, consultants, and journalists, and accomplished an in depth literature evaluate to attract classes from previous experiences and assist strengthen the motion’s effectiveness.

The Street to Reform.

The EU’s journey towards a extra sustainable and moral meals system tells a narrative of unprecedented citizen mobilization and preliminary political commitments, adopted by sudden delays and missed deadlines. This timeline reveals how a historic alternative for change has stalled regardless of overwhelming public help.

September 2018

• “Finish the Cage Age” Marketing campaign Launches This European Citizen Initiative unites 100+ organizations to finish caged farming throughout the EU.¹³ ECI’s are a mechanism that allows EU residents to suggest legislative modifications to the European Fee in the event that they collect no less than a million signatures from throughout Member states.¹⁴

December 2019

• European Inexperienced Deal Unveiled EU Fee presents bold roadmap for local weather neutrality by 2050 and sustainable financial system transition.¹⁵ A core element of this imaginative and prescient is the Farm to Fork Technique. 

Might 2020

• Farm to Fork Technique Launched Complete meals system reform focusing on pesticide discount, natural farming enlargement, and improved animal welfare.¹⁶

October 2020

• 1.4 Million Signatures Delivered “Finish the Cage Age” turns into probably the most profitable European Citizen Initiatives, demonstrating unprecedented public help for animal welfare reform.

April 2021

• Parliamentary Listening to Marketing campaign organizers current their case to the European Parliament in public session.

June 2021

• Parliament Backs Cage Ban The European Parliament adopts decision endorsing gradual finish to caged farming and calling for legislative motion.¹⁷
• Fee Dedication In response to the ECI, the  European Fee pledges to desk a legislative proposal by the top of 2023 to: part out cages by 2027, prolong the caged-free requirement to imported merchandise, and to offer incentives and monetary help to European farmers.

Summer time 2023

• Warning Indicators Rumors flow into that welfare revision is likely to be delayed or dropped from legislative agenda.

September 2023

• Lacking from Work Program Fee President Ursula von der Leyen fails to say animal welfare revision in 2024 Work Program, fueling hypothesis a couple of lack of political will.

December  2023

• Deadline Missed European Fee fails to ship promised laws by year-end deadline.

March 2024

• Authorized Problem Animal organizations take the European Fee to the European Courtroom of Justice. That is the primary authorized motion over failure to behave on a profitable ECI.

January 2024

• Strategic Dialogue Begins In parallel, the European Fee launches talks with 29 representatives from farming, trade, NGOs, finance, and academia on EU agriculture’s future.¹⁸

February 2025

• New Imaginative and prescient Emerges Strategic Dialogue produces “Imaginative and prescient for Agriculture and Meals,” emphasizing legislative reform and aiming to enhance the competitiveness and equity of European meals manufacturing, together with the revision of animal welfare legal guidelines, such because the phasing out of cages and the alignment of requirements for imported merchandise to these produced throughout the EU

The Problem: Why Has Reform Been Stalled?

Regardless of rising public help and scientific consensus for stronger animal welfare requirements, significant reform on the EU degree has stalled since late 2023. This deadlock outcomes from 5 key elements which have created an ideal storm of resistance to vary.

1. United Trade Opposition to Environmental Insurance policies

The meat, fertilizer, and pesticide industries have coordinated a robust marketing campaign in opposition to the European Inexperienced Deal, notably focusing on the Farm to Fork Technique and animal welfare revisions. These industries have funded their very own influence research to problem scientific findings, engaged in aggressive lobbying, and launched media campaigns to affect policymakers. The meat, fertilizer, and pesticide industries have coordinated a robust marketing campaign in opposition to the European Inexperienced Deal, notably focusing on the Farm to Fork Technique and animal welfare revisions. These industries have funded their very own influence research to problem scientific findings, engaged in aggressive lobbying, and launched media campaigns to affect policymakers. ^{19, 20, 21, 22}

2. Tensions Between Free Commerce and EU Import Requirements

Tensions persist throughout the European Fee between commerce liberalization and stricter welfare requirements, with DG TRADE typically viewing welfare necessities as obstacles to commerce agreements. The proposed EU-MERCOSUR deal exemplifies this problem, as elevated agricultural imports from international locations with decrease welfare requirements threat undermining EU producers who face greater regulatory prices. The inclusion of “mirror clauses” in free commerce agreements are important to make sure imported merchandise meet EU welfare requirements, thereby defending each animal welfare and truthful competitors.

3. Institutional Challenges throughout the European Fee

The European Fee faces structural and useful resource constraints that restrict its capability to push for animal welfare reforms. The Higher Regulation Tips require intensive session processes and influence assessments that demand vital sources and time.²³ Two particular obstacles prevented animal advocacy teams from accessing key decision-makers, and made it difficult to advance evidence-based insurance policies: 1) the political underrepresentation of animal welfare in establishments; and a couple of) the opacity and complexity of the legislative processes the place the European Fee is concerned. These boundaries created an uphill battle in opposition to the robust trade opposition and competing political priorities that stood in the best way of constructive change for animals .

4. Hostile Timing: Crises and Elections

The Russian invasion of Ukraine shifted priorities to meals safety and financial stability. The animal agriculture trade leveraged these occasions to argue that stricter welfare requirements would improve meals costs. Going through this shock, the European Fee seems to have frozen, or no less than to have stepped again from its commitments for the second. The timing of the reforms additionally coincided with European elections, discouraging policymakers from endorsing vital reforms.

5. Structural and Cultural Limitations of the Animal Advocacy Motion

The animal advocacy motion’s monetary constraints, with solely a small portion of restricted sources devoted to political lobbying. Ideological divisions between animal rights and welfare approaches hinder unified motion. Moreover,  a portion of the motion’s apolitical and even antipolitical custom resists participating with formal establishments.

Understanding these obstacles is step one to overcoming them. In our subsequent publish, we’ll discover the strategic pathways advocates can take to interrupt via this legislative gridlock and ship actual change for Europe’s 300 million caged animals.

1. Compassion in World Farming. (2024). Meals companies paving the best way for a cage‑free Europe. https://www.ciwf.org/sources/reports-position-papers-briefings/food-businesses-paving-the-way-for-a-cage-free-europe/ reddit.com+15ciwf.org+15 

2. Meals and Agriculture Group of the United Nations. (2023). Meat market evaluate: Rising tendencies and outlook 2023. https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/5fcbf357-eac5-4e22-84ce-ec0936d5fb52/content material 

3. Ritchie, H., Rosado, P., & Roser, M. (2023). Animal welfare. Our World in Knowledge. https://ourworldindata.org/animal-welfare 

4. Eurostat. (2024). Agricultural manufacturing – livestock and meat. European Fee. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Agricultural_production_-_livestock_and_meat 

5. European Courtroom of Auditors. (2023). Transport of stay livestock within the EU. https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/RV-2023-03/RV-2023-03_EN.pdf 

6. Ibid. 

7. Humane Society Worldwide. (2010). Meals security and cage egg manufacturing.
   https://www.humaneworld.org/websites/default/information/uploads/property/pdfs/hsi-fa-white-papers/food_safety_risks_of_cage_egg.pdf 

8. European Meals Security Authority. (2023). Information session on the welfare of geese, geese and quail. https://www.efsa.europa.eu/websites/default/information/2023-05/infosession-23-may-2023-ducks-geese-quail.pdf 

9. Animal Coverage Worldwide. (2024). Making use of the UK’s Animal Welfare Requirements to Imports. https://www.animalpolicyinternational.org/applying-the-uk-animal-welfare-standards-to-imported-products 

10. Animal Society. (2024). Act for animals.
    https://www.actforanimals.eu/ 

11. Eurogroup for Animals.(2025). Ahead for animals.
    https://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/forward-animals 

12. L214. (2025). Uncage the legislation.
    https://uncagethelaw.eu/ 

13. European Fee. (2018). Finish the Cage Age initiative.https://www.endthecageage.eu/ 

14. European Fee. European Citizen’s initiative.
    https://citizens-initiative.europa.eu/_en 

15. European Fee. (2019). The European Inexperienced Deal. https://ec.europa.eu/information/technique/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en 

16. European Fee. (2020). Farm to Fork Technique. https://ec.europa.eu/meals/farm2fork_en 

17. CIWF (2024). Finish the Cage Age initiative.https://www.endthecageage.eu/ 

18. European Fee. (2024). Strategic Dialogue on the way forward for EU agriculture. https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/overview-vision-agriculture-food/main-initiatives-strategic-dialogue-future-eu-agriculture_en 

19. Holland, N., & Tansey, R. (2022). A loud foyer for a silent spring: The pesticide trade’s poisonous lobbying techniques in opposition to Farm to Fork. Company Europe Observatory. https://www.corporateeurope.org/en/2022/03/loud-lobby-silent-spring 

20. InfluenceMap. (2024, Might 29). The European meat and dairy sector’s local weather coverage engagement. https://influencemap.org/report/The-European-Meat-and-Dairy-Sector-s-Local weather-Coverage-Engagement-28096 

21. Carter, N. (2024). Harvesting denial, distractions, and deception: Understanding animal agriculture’s disinformation methods and exploring options. Freedom Meals Alliance. https://www.freedomfoodalliance.org/thereport 

22. Win, T. L., Neslen, A., Kanter, J., Riva, P., Sapoch, J., Ramalho da Silva, B., Hekman, L., & Pang, T. (2023, October 23). Animal welfare wrecked: How an more and more assertive meat trade helped derail a historic democratic demand to enhance animal welfare requirements within the EU. Lighthouse Stories. https://www.lighthousereports.com/investigation/animal-welfare-wrecked/ 

23. European Fee. (2023). Higher regulation: pointers and toolbox. https://fee.europa.eu/legislation/law-making-process/planning-and-proposing-law/better-regulation/better-regulation-guidelines-and-toolbox_en 

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About Thomas Hecquet

Having grown up on a farm, Thomas has labored throughout the animal trade for 10 years. Moved by the values of egalitarianism and solidarity, he has been part of the animal rights motion since 2006, principally in Germany and France, working in grassroot teams and worldwide organizations.
He’s now concerned in a corporation targeted on altering legal guidelines and establishments for animals: Animal Society and the “Animals in Democracy” community.

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