Document type : Online pre-publication version of article in the Bulletin de Médecine Vétérinaire de France
Author: Agnès Fabre
Preview in English provided by the author: Animal welfare as a key notion has been introduced progressively in European and French Law. This article shows this progression from the first acts concerning the protection of animals to those concerning humane protection of animals to finally those, more recent, concerning animal welfare. A switch was the adoption of Amsterdam and Lisbon Treaties in 1997 and 2009. The aim of these texts was to reform the European policy. Then, in 2002, the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) took into account animal welfare as a mission. In 2014, the French law concerning the future of agriculture constituted a significant step. The historical context is examined as well as the current initiatives in private and public field.
