Document type : Written answer from the European Commission
Authors: Question: Anja Hazekamp (The Left), Manuel Bompard (The Left), Caroline Roose (Greens/EFA), Francisco Guerreiro (Greens/EFA). Answer: Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission
Question : The Commission is ignoring the welfare of sentient marine invertebrate animals during its revision of EU animal welfare laws. As established in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the Union "shall, since animals are sentient beings, pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals". Scientific reviews by the European Food Safety Authority and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) have conclusively proven that marine invertebrates, such as octopods, squid and decapod crustaceans, are sentient beings. However, none of the existing EU laws cover the welfare of marine invertebrates. The Commission recently stated that the upcoming revision of EU animal welfare laws will not cover invertebrate animals. br />Can the Commission explain why it is ignoring Article 13 of the TFEU by failing to pay full regard to the welfare requirements of sentient invertebrate animals during its revision of EU animal welfare legislation?
The Commission's statement that "the scope envisaged for this revision does not cover invertebrate animals" dates from 16 September 2021.
On 20 October 2021, Parliament adopted the Farm to Fork resolution, which calls on the Commission to support and encourage the development of higher welfare methods of capture, landing, transport and slaughter marine invertebrates, on the basis of the best available science.
How will the Commission follow up on this call and on the LSE report from November 2021 in order to improve the welfare of marine invertebrates?
Answer: The Farm to Fork strategy provides that the revised EU animal welfare legislation should be based on the best available scientific evidence. The 2023 legislative proposal will therefore focus on the species for which there is such sufficient evidence to support new provisions.
Existing EU animal welfare rules are in need of an update. The Commission has therefore mandated the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to provide new scientific opinions, by the first half of 2023 at the latest, on the welfare of a number of species currently covered by EU animal welfare legislation. Marine invertebrates do not belong to this category.
The Commission and EFSA have however agreed on a roadmap for upcoming scientific opinions on the welfare of additional animal species, to be delivered from 2023 and 2030. This roadmap includes certain invertebrate animals such as decapods. The work of EFSA could allow the Commission to - if and when considered necessary - further respond to the objectives highlighted in the Farm to Fork strategy, i.e. to broaden the scope of the current legislation and to keep it scientifically updated, after the adoption of the legislative proposal scheduled in 2023.
