Document type: Written answer from the European Commission
Authors: Question: Izaskun Bilbao Barandica. Answer: Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Parliament
Question: The ‘Welfare Quality’ and ‘Animal Welfare Indicators’ (AWIN) research programmes are one of the pillars of the EU’s animal welfare policy. Indicators have been developed in these programmes to measure both the conditions under which livestock is bred and slaughtered, and the influence this has on the end quality of the products. One practical application of this work lies in the development of animal welfare certification procedures to help consumers distinguish products that have followed responsible animal welfare breeding and slaughter protocols, and thereby facilitate the spread of these protocols on EU farms. This policy may help overcome EU farmers’ fears about trade agreements such as the one being negotiated with Mercosur.
1 How far advanced is this certification work? Have any consolidated trials been carried out and does an assessment exist of how well they functioned and their results?
2 Is it possible to predict when the use of these certifications on the EU market will become standard practice?
3 Is there a campaign in the pipeline to promote the policy of labelling based on animal welfare across the EU?
Answer: As mentioned by the Honourable Member, animal welfare indicators have been developed in the context of research programmes. The Commission is aware that labelling schemes including animal welfare exist through private or public initiatives in some Member States. The Commission has no information on the extent to which the outcomes of research programmes on animal welfare indicators have been used in certification schemes.
In the context of the European Green Deal, the Commission will present a Farm to Fork Strategy in spring 2020, which will also look at animal welfare. In this framework, the Commission will consider which measures could be envisaged in the future (including with regard to information to consumers), taking also into account the conclusions on animal welfare adopted by the Council in December 2019 which invite the Commission to "assess the need for and impact of an EU regulatory framework with criteria for animal welfare labelling schemes taking into account national experience".
This issue will be also considered in the framework of the current evaluation of the EU animal welfare strategy. The outcomes of this evaluation is expected by the end of 2020.
Furthermore, where needed, additional research into indicators and their application into certification schemes could be considered under the forthcoming research & innovation framework programme for 2021-2027 Horizon Europe.
