Document type: Written answer from the European Commission
Authors: question: Elżbieta Kruk (ECR). Answer: Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission.
Question: The group L214 has conducted an investigation into the French lamb fattening farm SARL Grimal and the industrial slaughterhouse Arcadie Sud-Ouest, where lambs from SARL Grimal are slaughtered.
The investigation has drawn attention to the terrible conditions endured by sheep during the fattening and slaughter process. Lambs are crammed into buildings without access to an outside area, with many sick lambs left to suffer agonising deaths.
80 % of sheep are artificially inseminated and one million lambs are born every year. Only 25 % of them (female) are kept to renew the herd and produce milk. The rest, between 500 000 and 800 000 lambs, are either sent directly to a slaughterhouse, or first to an intensive farm to be fattened, and then to a slaughterhouse.
- Does the Commission plan to review the current slaughter regulation and animal welfare legislation in order to provide protection for animals that are not currently covered, such as lambs and sheep, and to ensure that Member States enforce regulations properly?
- Does the Commission plan to take any action against France for its failure to monitor the application of slaughter regulations?
- Is the Commission satisfied with the current 'quality labelling' procedure under EU law?
Written Answer: 1. The EU legislation on the protection of animals at the time of killing lays down rules for the killing of animals bred or kept for the production of food, wool, skin, fur or other products as well as the killing of animals for the purpose of depopulation. The protection of lambs and sheep at the time of killing falls already under the scope of the current Regulation.
Concerning the possible revision of the animal welfare legislation the Commission has started this process within the framework of the Farm to Fork Strategy. The main goals are to align the existing legislation with the latest scientific evidence, allow better enforcement and ultimately ensure a higher level of animal welfare. This process includes the legislation for the protection of animals at slaughter.
- Commission experts carry out risk-based controls in all Member States, including France, to verify the correct implementation of EC law, including regulations concerning the protection of animals. The Commission has neither detected nor received conclusive evidence that the French authorities have systematically failed to implement EU rules regarding the issues raised in the question.
- The labelling provisions in the regulation on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs offer adequate protection to consumers and are subject to official controls. Moreover, this regulation applies without prejudice to other specific Union provisions, relating to the placing of products on the market; accordingly, this encompasses inter alia food labelling and animal welfare rules.
