Document type: report published by The European Institute for Animal Law & Policy
Author: The European Institute for Animal Law & Policy
Summary: Overall , 2025 was a difficult year for animals, with the notable exception of fur-bearing animals. At the EU level, positive developments include the listing of the American mink (Neogale vison) as an invasive alien species, which will result in a ban on mink farming starting in August 2027. However, one Member State, Denmark, has already announced its intention to request an exemption from this ban from the European Commission.
The year 2025 was also marked by a weakening of wolf protection rules, following the downgrading by the Commission and the Member States of the wolf’s protected status under international law (Bern Convention) and EU law (Habitats Directive). The Commission also removed the rules protecting wild habitats from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) regulations, thereby ending the few requirements that protected wild animals in the context of the earmarking of agricultural subsidies.
A few developments in Member States’ laws are also worth highlighting. First, efforts to ban fur farming at the national level have continued successfully. In Bulgaria, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the national ban on mink farming in a landmark ruling validating the 2022 regulation prohibiting the farming and import of American mink. Poland, one of the EU’s leading fur producers, also succeeded in passing a law banning fur farming—this was the third legislative attempt to enact such a ban. The new Polish law thus prohibited the establishment of new fur farms as soon as it was enacted and mandated the closure of all existing facilities by the end of 2033. The law also introduces a compensation mechanism designed to support farmers in transitioning out of the sector.
However, 2025 also saw the emergence of measures aimed at restricting the development of alternatives to animal-derived products, notably through the adoption of stricter labeling regulations for plant-based products (France) and a preemptive ban on products derived from cultivated agriculture (Hungary). Overall, this annual review thus highlights the need to continue our legislative and legal advocacy efforts. The year 2026 will be marked by the adoption of the new European regulation on the welfare of dogs and cats, the proposal for which was published in 2023 and the final text of which was approved by the three EU institutions in November 2025, following more than two years of political negotiations. This development will be welcome given the delays in implementing new national legislation on pet welfare (for example, in France and Spain) and the withdrawal of certain proposed laws on this subject (in Portugal). Finally, it is to be hoped that 2026 will see the Commission publish new legislative proposals on the welfare of farm animals, which have been postponed since 2023.
