Document type: audit report published on the European Commission website
Authors: DG Health, European Commission
Preview: This report describes the outcome of an audit of Belgium, carried out remotely from 6 to 10 and on-the-spot from 13 to 17 March 2023 as part of the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety's work programme. The objective of the audit was to assess the effectiveness of the official controls on the protection of cattle kept for beef production and to gather information related to the protection of that livestock. The audit concluded that the assurance provided by the animal welfare controls on cattle kept for beef production was generally satisfactory. Authorities conduct a high number of animal welfare controls. Their effectiveness, efficiency and consistency are however reduced due to the weaknesses in instructions, enforcement, verification and coordination. While there is no single central competent authority for animal welfare, each of the three Regions is an independent competent authority. The Regions delegate planning and performance of routine controls to the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) that is responsible for checks on animal health and identification, and on food safety. The coordination between authorities is complex and challenging. Despite the existing mechanisms for that coordination, there are gaps affecting the control verification procedures, the planning of risk-based controls, the enforcement, the consistent consideration of third-party quality schemes and the use of outcome of the internal audits to improve the systems. Planned controls are frequent and effective at identifying the most evident non-compliances. However, their effectiveness is hindered by the limited guidance and training provided by the Regions for interpreting legal requirements and on how to perform the checks. The regions perform mainly reactive controls, responding to complaints and notifications, and are also the only ones with enforcement powers. When a serious non-compliance is detected, enforcement is robust for reactive controls, but it is delayed for other non-compliances due to limitations of the procedures for coordinating the segregation of inspections and enforcement responsibilities. There is routine use of c-section in farms with cows of Belgian Blue breed to protect those cows and their calves from unnecessary suffering and related health issues. This is needed due to the likely calving difficulties caused by breeding procedures which are not covered by the official controls. Dehorning of cattle or disbudding of young calves are frequently conducted. They are generally performed in compliance with the national legislation although the audit identified some weaknesses in their control and occasional failures in their implementation. Belgian rules establish the role of private veterinarians ensuring links between farmer and veterinarian. Authorities use that link for confirming information during the official controls, and enforcement follow-up. The report contains recommendations to the competent authorities aimed at addressing areas in which further improvements are required or to address the shortcomings identified.
Link to the Competent Authority response to recommendations in report
From the European Commission website
