Keywords: Societal issues

European Parliament: Written answer to question E-000214/23: Animal welfare controls at EU exit points

Question: Thomas Waitz (Greens/EFA). Answer: Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2023

Answer to a question concerning the fact that the Greek border of Kakavia continues to be used as an exit point for live animals from the European Union (EU) even though it is not recognized as such, and asking whether any sanctions have been taken by the EU against Greece.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Ovines, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords: Societal issues, Transport

Go to document

Review: Connecting circularity to animal welfare calls for a 'novel' conceptual framework based on integrity

M.B.M. Bracke, I.J.M. Boumans, H.J. Nijland, E.A.M. Bokkers

Published in 2023

Scientific review proposing a new conceptual framework it calls the circular welfare economy (CWE), intended to facilitate the transition to sustainable agriculture. The CWE applies the notion of circularity to welfare, defined as the quality of life as it is perceived by the individual animal itself. It also considers human integrity, defined as openness and honesty, to be a prerequisite for sustainability.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Ovines, Fish, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords: Environment, One Welfare, Human-animal relationships,Societal issues

Investigating clove oil and its derivatives as anaesthetic agents for decapod crustaceans to improve welfare commercially and at slaughter

Felicity Spoors, Mark James, Tania Mendo, J. Chris McKnight, Eva-Maria S. Bønnelycke, Nicola Khan

Published in 2023

Scientific review on the use of clove oil as a natural, effective and reversible anaesthetic in decapods, including brown crab and langoustine, which are commercially important in the UK, and whether it can  improve the welfare of these animals at the farming and slaughter stages of life.

Document Types: Scientific review

Keywords: Pain, Societal issues

Go to document

Overview report on the protection of the welfare of laying hens at all stages of production

DG SANTE

Published in 2023

Summary of the official inspections carried out in the Member States in 2021 to assess the protection of hen welfare. It proposes avenues for improvement and identifies good practices for dissemination. It shows that the protection of the welfare of laying hens varies from one Member State to another, risking the creation of unfair competition for producers within the EU. It reveals that official inspections of pullet farms and hatcheries are far less frequent and consistent than those of laying hen farms.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords: Societal issues, Livestock farming system

Go to document

The grim reality of industrial animal farming

Eurogroup for Animals

Published in 2023

Report summarizing the main welfare problems faced by broilers, fish, pigs, dairy cows and rabbits in intensive farming and the main shortcomings of current European legislation in this respect.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Sheep, Fish, Pigs, Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Pain, Societal issues, Mutilation, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system

Go to document

Welfare of calves

Søren Saxmose Nielsen, Julio Alvarez, Dominique Joseph Bicout, Paolo Calistri, Elisabetta Canali, Julian Ashley Drewe, Bruno Garin-Bastuji, Jose Luis Gonzales Rojas, Christian Gortazar Schmidt, Mette Herskin, Virginie Michel, Miguel Ángel Miranda Chueca, Barbara Padalino, Paolo Pasquali, Helen Clare Roberts, Hans Spoolder, Karl Stahl, Antonio Velarde, Arvo Viltrop and Christoph Winckler

Published in 2023

EFSA opinion identifying fifteen highly relevant negative welfare consequences, the most common being respiratory disorders, inability to engage in exploratory or foraging behavior, gastroenteric disorders and group stress. It recommends a space provision of at least 3m2 per calf, keeping the calf with its mother for a minimum of 24 hours, after which calves should be kept in stable groups and soft bedding should be provided.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Animal adaptation, Animal-based measurements, Enrichment, Risk management, Welfare indicators, Housing, Living environment, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system, Societal issues

Challenges In Understanding Farmed Insect Welfare

Meghan Barrett, Bob Fischer

Published in 2023

Challenges identified in this article include the rapid growth of the insect farming industry and associated innovations, the use of welfare tools originally developed for vertebrates, variations between populations and individuals, welfare needs during insect development, and animal welfare trade-offs in the decision to use insect as opposed to fish proteins.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Insects

Keywords: Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships

Go to document

Assemblée nationale: réponse écrite à la question n°5240 : Absence d’étiquetage concernant l’abattage rituel 

Question: Serge Muller (RN - Dordogne). Answer: Ministry of the Interior

Published in 2023

Answer to a question on the possible introduction of labelling to show "slaughter with stunning" or "slaughter without stunning", to enable all consumers to make informed purchases.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Stress

Go to document

EU POSITIVE LIST - A proposal to regulate the trade in animals destined for life as a pet

Eurogroup for Animals

Published in 2023

A white paper that presents a framework that is feasible in legal terms for a positive list of exotic animal species that could be  legally traded and/or kept as pets. This list takes into account animal welfare, public health, and Adaptation of the animal to the environment conservation.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Wildlife

Keywords:Societal issues, Animal population management, Living environment, Human-animal relationships

Go to document

La sensibilité animale – Approches juridiques et enjeux transdisciplinaires

Under the direction of Aloïse Quesne

Published in 2023

Book discussing the consequences of the failure to define animal sentience in the French Civil Code, which states only that "animals are living beings endowed with sentience". The book explores the legal consequences of recognising animal sentience, the possibility of differences in sentience between species, and how to improve legal protections for such sentience.

Document Types: Scientific work

Animal categories: All animals

Keywords:Societal issues, One Welfare, Human-animal relationships

Go to document