Document type: news item from the Welfarm website
Author: Welfarm
Preview: Last December, Welfarm expressed its dissatisfaction with the failure of the French National Strategic Plan (NSP) to meet animal welfare needs, one of the objectives that must be achieved in order to receive future funding from the next Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2023-20272. In a letter entitled 'Observations relatives au Plan stratégique relevant de la PAC présenté par la France' and published by Contexte, the Commission only confirms this situation and calls on the French government to address the issue.
"No significant measures to improve animal welfare"
The EU executive notes: "France does not envisage [...] any significant measures to improve animal welfare, in particular to encourage the rearing of pigs without tail docking and unconfined rearing systems for laying hens, calves and sows. Across the board, France should justify, or if necessary improve on the low number of measures to improve animal welfare."
A matter of concern for an overwhelming majority of Europeans and the French people
The Commission is aware of the resonance this issue has among the public, noting that "the public debate has allowed the expression of citizens' expectations regarding health requirements or the lack of consideration of animal welfare". The results of France's latest public consultation on the issue, revealed last week, clearly demonstrate this. For example, 93% of respondents were in favour of phasing out caged farming and 95% were in favour of setting maximum travel times for the transport of live animals.
In France, 77% of the French are of the opinion that the CAP should be used to move away from the industrialisation of livestock farming and 85% believe that it is important for the CAP to set out to guarantee the welfare of farm animals.
However, in the French NSP 2023-2027, animal welfare does not appear as a criterion for the allocation of funds, with a few exceptions. In contrast to environmental protection, there is no strengthening of cross-compliance requirements with regard to animal protection, allowing access to funding for the worst farming practices.
Animal welfare, the great forgotten issue of the new eco-regime
One of the new features of the 2023-2027 CAP are what are known as "eco-schemes". Eco-schemes are supposed to reward practices and systems that are more respectful of the environment, the climate... and animal welfare. Unfortunately, in the French NSP, no animal welfare criteria are included in the pathways to eco-schemes. Even more serious is the fact that the NSP plans to make eco-schemes accessible for intensive livestock farms that have High Environmental Value (HVE) ꟷ certification, which is not based on any animal welfare criteria.
In its response of 31 March, the Commission criticises the eco-scheme system put in place by France.
