Document type : Report DG(SANTE) 2021-7249 of the European Commission
Author: DG SANTE
Preview: Final report of an audit of France from 25 January 2021 to 5 February 2021 in order to evaluate controls of Animal Welfare at slaughter and during related operations (https://ec.europa.eu/food/audits-analysis/act_getPDF.cfm?PDF_ID=15439)
This report describes the outcome of a remote audit of France carried out from 25 January to 5 February 2021. The main objective of the audit was to evaluate the effectiveness of official controls on business operators in order to ensure that animals are spared any avoidable pain, distress, or suffering during their killing and related operations. The audit also assessed the actions taken in response to the recommendations made in the previous audit report DG(SANTE) 2015-7427.
The report concludes that the French authorities have taken a wide range of measures to improve the implementation of official controls on animal welfare during slaughter and for addressing most recommendations of the previous audit report. Overall, the French authorities have increased the effectiveness of their official controls aimed at ensuring that animals are spared any avoidable pain, distress, or suffering during their killing and related operations.
Official controls focused on operators' own checks, including ensuring they draft and implement suitable standard operating procedures, and on the strengthening of the role of a designated animal welfare officer and his/her particular responsibilities in the establishments.
Due to comprehensive training measures, and supported by comprehensive guidance documents, inspectors are well able to assess the structures and processes in the slaughterhouses. In particular, the implementation of own controls by the operators has improved considerably.
In many cases competent authorities are still not ensuring a timely correction of structural non-compliances reported to business operators. This is particularly the case for the transitional period as regards some requirements on structure and equipment, where the competent authorities initiated corrective action only after it expired at the end of 2019.
The competent authorities have not yet fully addressed three recommendations made in audit report DG(SANTE) 2015-7427:
- The competent authorities are still awaiting the publishing of a decree which would enable them to legally pursue manufacturers of restraining and stunning equipment who refuse to make the instructions publicly available.
- The authorities have not yet finalised the technical instruction on how to use the collected data of daily mortality rates of broilers in the farms, which prevents them from having consistent and high quality assessments of animal welfare at the farms of origin.
- Severely injured animal are still routinely transported to slaughterhouses.
Some areas remain to be better addressed by the official controls and administrative measures in the follow-up of identified non-compliances in operators' activities.
The report makes two recommendations to the competent authorities aimed at improving their official controls.
