A large majority of MEPs adopted on 4 July in plenary the report by Marit Paulsen MEP on the new European Strategy for the Protection and Welfare of Animals 2012-2015.

This vote sends a strong signal to the European Commission that Europeans want better animal welfare and it must act immediately to ensure that the protection of animals remains high on the EU agenda.

In contrast to the Commission Communication, the adopted resolution gives considerably more emphasis to many aspects that were vaguely or not taken into account and recalls that Article 13 of the Lisbon Treaty is of general application and as such equally as important as the environment or consumer protection and legally preeminent to all internal market policies.

Full details on the strategy can be found here

The European Animal Welfare Platform (EAWP), an EU funded project bringing together representatives from farmers, retailers, animal welfare NGOs and academia published the results of three years of discussion and interaction on the protection of animals raised for food. With animal welfare of increasing concern to citizens and consumers as part of sustainable and ethical food choice, business operators are keen to know what issues will be priorities in the coming years.

Read more about the project and see the results here

The European Court of Auditors published a special report on the control system for organic production. The report mainly focuses on the effectiveness of the system for supervising organic production and how the various institutions involved have fulfilled their responsibilities with regard to both the control system within the EU and the managements of the import schemes currently in operation.

The animal welfare aspect is not left behind as it is considered as a central component of organic production.

To read the report, click here

Eurogroup’s Italian member organisation LAV published a report in English on the “the real cost of meat: mapping the impacts of meat production” which provides an overview of the political processes and financial impacts hidden behind the meat served on the plate of European consumers.

The report illustrates the wide range of impacts the current system of meat production has, which too often result in unsustainable activities from an economic, social, environmental as well as an ethical point of view, and suggests a number of measures which would improve the current wasteful and costly system.

To read the report, click here

Due to a busy agenda at the last European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee on 10 July, the vote on the own-initiative report report by Janusz Wojciechowski MEP on the protection of live animals during transport has been postponed until the next Committee on 18 September 2012.

At a previous session of the European Parliament’s Animal Welfare Intergroup, Mr. Wojciechowski stated that Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 is adequate but not sufficient to ensure the protection of animals during transport and urged the need for more action in this area, especially in control systems.

The European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) recently published the outcome of audits carried out in Belgium and Brazil in which shortcomings related to the welfare of animals were found.

The audit carried out in Belgium evaluated official controls related to the slaughter of equidae and the processing of fresh meat. The FVO reports that in one slaughterhouse, bleeding was delayed up to two to three minutes after stunning, although no recovery was observed by the animals. In the same slaughterhouse, the lairage was also reported as slippery.

Click here to see the report

The second report based on an audit carried out in Brazil evaluated the measures taken by the Brazilian authorities to address the recommendations outlined in a previous audit report and evaluate the official controls related to production and storage of fresh bovine meat and casings for exports to the EU, as well as certification procedures.

The report mentions that the staff from both the Competent Authorities and the Food Business Operators participated in a training on animal welfare organised by Eurogroup’s member organisation WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals).

Although new animal welfare controls at slaughter have been introduced and these were assessed as satisfactory, the FVO made observations regarding the shortcomings found during the audit. These relate mainly to a lack of space, the method of stunning and the requirements for feeding animals.

Click here to see the report

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published an updated scientific statement taking into consideration the latest research on animal clones and their offspring for food production purposes.

The statement is in line with previous statements of EFSA whereby they state that meat and milk from healthy clones and their offspring are safe for consumption, however they recognise that animal health and welfare concerns continue to be associated with this technology.

This statement forms part of the impact assessment the Commission is presently carrying out in preparation for legislation on the cloning of animals for food production in addition to a public consultation running until September 2012.

After dairy cows and pigs, EFSA has published the latest scientific opinion in its series on animal-based welfare indicators. This scientific opinion gives an overview of the current and potential future use of animal-based measures to assess the welfare of broilers.

To see the document, click here

For more information on animal-based indicators, the EFSA has released an insightful video. To see it, click here

The European Commission published a Guidance on the Safety Assessment of Nanomaterials in Cosmetics which was drafted by the European Commission’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) to help the cosmetics industry comply with the legislation on cosmetic products (Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009).

From 11 January 2013, the cosmetics industry will have to notify to the Commission, through the Cosmetics Products Notification Portal, all cosmetic products containing nanomaterials, six months prior to placing them on the market. They will also have to provide specific data relevant for risk assessment purposes.

The document refers to the need for compliance with the present bans on use of animals for safety testing of cosmetics (including the final ban which comes into force in 2013) and also compliance with Directive 2010/63 on use of animals for scientific purposes in relation to alternatives. However it notes that the alternative methods will not all be available by the dates of the ban. It also goes on to state that alternatives available are for conventional cosmetic ingredient testing and not for nanomaterials however that some validated tests may be relevant for nanomaterials.

More details can be found here

As part of developing an ambitious work programme for companion animals, Eurogroup’s Advisory Board on Companion Animals held its first meeting in Brussels.

This Advisory Board has been set up to guide Eurogroup, and includes experts from a number of EU Member States, representing a range of areas of expertise, including experts in veterinary science, genetics, animal welfare, behaviour and epidemiology, as well as representatives from the Federal Belgian Government, Eastern Europe and Europetnet.

The first meeting was a success, with many interesting and productive discussions. As a result, the Board has made a series of recommendations on the priority welfare issues for dogs and cats in the EU, which the Board believes Eurogroup should focus on and which will now be used to inform Eurogroup’s strategy for companion animals.

The UK Parliament’s Associate Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW) published last week its update report, ‘A Healthier Future for Pedigree Dogs’ where it commits to supporting Eurogroup in raising the issue of irresponsible dog breeding in the EU in whatever way possible.

The report outlines what has been done since the BBC documentary ‘Pedigree Dogs Exposed’ which uncovered the extent of health and welfare problems in pedigree dogs was aired in the UK in 2008 and since APGAW’s first report on this issue was published in 2009.

Although much work has been done to improve dog breeding since 2008, the report concludes that it is still a significant welfare issue and there is more that needs to be done. It therefore includes an Action Plan, which outlines a series of recommendations in order to make improvements in dog breeding.

European Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik and the Swedish Environment Minister Lena Ek met last week to discuss the management plan for the conservation of the wolf population in Sweden, in the context of the infringement procedure that was opened in January 2011 which asked Sweden to respect EU nature legislation by adequately protecting its wolf population threatened with extinction.

The Commission is concerned about several aspects of Swedish wolf policy, and especially about the hunting of wolves when the species is not in a favourable conservation status.

More details about last week’s meeting can be found here

Further details about this infringement procedure can be found here

To highlight the ongoing, unprecedented slaughter of rhinos for the illegal trade in rhino horns from South Africa to Asia, the CITES Secretariat released a film highlighting the brutality of poaching, impacts on local communities and the role of organised crime. In 2011, 448 rhinos were killed versus only 13 in 2007. Over 240 animals have already been poached this year. Authorities are calling for stronger enforcement actions and leadership in Asia where unfounded claims of the medicinal properties of horns are spurring the illegal market.

This problem reaches beyond Africa and Asia with the EU experiencing thefts of rhino horns from museums, auction houses and taxidermists. Coordinated law enforcement and a high-level political response are needed to thwart this crisis before rhinos become extinct. Two sub-species were already declared extinct in 2011 (Western Black Rhino and Javan rhino in Vietnam).

The film can be viewed here

To read the full press release, click here

A wide range of topics related to the conservation, management and trade issues of endangered species of wild fauna and flora were debated at the 62nd CITES Standing Commitee held in Geneva on 23-27 July. To see the agenda and documents, click here

Eurogroup member, Stichting AAP, joined other NGOs in launching an educational campaign to end the illegal pet trade in Barbary macaques targeted at tourists travelling from Europe to Morocco. Tourists will be given educational flyers and sunscreens by volunteers at the Spanish port of Algeciras before boarding the ferry to Morocco. A short film will also be screened in the port and on the ferries.

Barbary macaque populations have plummeted in recent years due to the illegal pet trade and the population is now estimated at only 4000 animals. AAP has rescued many “pet” monkeys over the years after owners realise how unsuitable they are as pets. Even tourists taking photos with baby monkeys in markets are spurring the illegal poaching of infants from the wild.

To learn more about the campaign please click here

In light of the Agriculture Council which took place on 16 July 2012 Eurogroup for Animals urges all Member States to support the phase out of the use of subsidies which promote the export of live animals to third countries.

The granting of these subsidies is conditional and requires all EU rules on animal welfare during transport to be respected. However the suffering continues as the current legislation is inadequate and Member States are either reluctant or incapable of ensuring correct implementation.

Read our full press release here

The European Commission launched a public consultation, which intends to enable the gathering of detailed views relating to the future trade and economic relationship between the European Union and the United States.

Taking into account the more general initial public consultation published February 2012, it aims at detailing and structuring the feedback of all relevant stakeholders, including civil society (of which animal welfare organisations are part of).

The results of both consultations will feed into the Impact Assessment the European Commission’s Directorate General for Trade is currently preparing. The Impact Assessment will help shape the position of the Commission with regards to a potential bilateral initiative with the United States in the field of trade policy.

For all details on the consultation, click here

The European Parliament’s Environment Committee adopted on 10 July the draft opinion by Ms Westlund MEP on the proposal for a directive on public procurement.

The Committee adopted several amendments which aim to include animal welfare aspects in public procurement policy. A large set of animal welfare related amendments has also been tabled for the draft report by Marc Tarabella MEP in the lead Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection whose adoption is foreseen in mid-October. The European Parliament is expected to adopt Mr Tarabella's report in mid-December.

Public procurement is an important tool for contracting authorities to make the best use of taxpayers' money. That includes using public procurement to create sustainable development including the enhancement of positive developments in the areas of environment protection and animal welfare.

Eurogroup for Animals congratulates Belgian member GAIA and Delhaize Belgium for their frontline decision to stop piglet castration. This decision was announced this week in Delhaize press release setting plans for the brand to stop buying pig meat that come from pigs that have been surgically castrated effective from 1st June 2013. Delhaize Belgium has also shown progressive steps in promoting animal welfare in other areas such as by selling eggs that only come from free range systems and also investing in rabbit welfare.