Document type : article published in Le Monde
Author: Mathilde Gérard
Extract: The resolution adopted on Thursday by a very large majority is the result of a citizens' initiative that collected 1.4 million signatures. The European Commission is due to give its opinion in a few weeks' time.
By an overwhelming majority, MEPs voted on Thursday 10 June, by 558 votes to 37 with 85 abstentions, for a resolution providing for a gradual ban on the use of cages in livestock farms. The deadline is set for 2027 in the text, with wording that nevertheless leaves the way open for possible adjustments to the timetable. The non-binding text was supported by the European Commissioner for Health, Stella Kyriakides, who said that improving animal welfare "is a moral, health and economic imperative".
The draft resolution was tabled on behalf of the Parliament's Agriculture Committee. It followed a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI), launched by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), which collected almost 1.4 million signatures in Europe between 2018 and 2019, and called for an end to the "cage age".
"The question is not whether the objectives [of this ECI] should be achieved, but how the European Union can achieve the gradual removal of animal species from cages," said Kyriakides on Thursday morning. Our rules have to change and this is a very clear call from our citizens." The European Commission's formal response to the ECI is expected by mid-July. If regulatory changes are proposed, they will be subject to negotiations between the institutions and Member States.
Every year, around 300 million livestock animals (chickens, rabbits, pigs, calves, ducks, etc.), i.e. animals kept for the purpose of selling their products, are raised in individual cages in Europe. Although some sectors have begun the transition to alternative farming methods, the pace of this transition is very uneven.
In France, 36% of laying hens were in cages in 2020 (compared with 69% five years earlier), thanks in particular to a campaign launched as the result of pressure from associations and consumers, who are better informed thanks to labelling. However, other sectors are still heavily dependent on cages, for example rabbit farms - up to 85% cage-use in Europe - and pig farms, where sows are kept in individual gestation and farrowing pens for part of the year. […]
In a surprise amendment, MEPs also asked the Commission to put forward proposals to ban the force-feeding of geese and ducks for foie gras production. The proposal, which was supported by the radical left and the Greens, was adopted by 319 votes to 251 (with 108 abstentions). The proposal, which received no attention in the course of Thursday's parliamentary debates, is expected to meet with strong resistance, as some politicians see this practice as a tradition that is almost part of practitioners' identities.
Other articles on the same subject can be found:
- in Ouest France on 11 June 2021 : L’élevage en cage interdit en 2027 ? Le Parlement européen dit oui
- on the Toute l'Europe website on 11 June 2021 : Bien-être animal : des citoyens européens engagés parviendront-ils à faire bannir l’élevage en cage?
