Proposals published today (Wednesday 12 October) by the European Commission have missed the opportunity to address the animal welfare problems caused by intensive agricultural production.
Despite repeated calls by animal welfare organisations and the general public, the Commission’s legislative proposals for the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) do not recognise animal welfare as a public good. Instead, the objectives are limited to delivering viable food production, sustainable management of natural resources and climate action, and balanced territorial development.
The improvement of animal welfare could be promoted through these broader objectives, but without explicit recognition, there is no guarantee that welfare will be taken into account. Other public goods such as the conservation of biodiversity are similarly affected.
No basic payment to farmers to improve animal welfare is proposed; and animal welfare is no longer stated clearly as an objective of the Common Agriculture Policy (although it was previously in 2003). There are no instruments to reward farmers who correctly apply animal welfare related directives; and no sanction to dissuade farmers from ignoring European law.
Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union states that agriculture legislation must pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals, as sentient beings. It seems to OneKind, and to our colleagues in Eurogroup for Animals who have raised their concerns about the proposals, that the European Commission is failing to observe this aspect of the treaty.
Unless amended, most of the revised CAP budget will continue to be spent on intensive production. It will also continue to subsidise the export of live cattle on long journeys to third countries which have been shown to cause horrific animal suffering.
Over the coming months, as the European Parliament and the Council debate the Commission’s proposals, OneKind will support Eurogroup for Animals as it works to see animal welfare incorporated more robustly in the CAP. OneKind supporters can help now, by asking MEPs to seek the recognition of animal welfare as a public good. It may seem obvious to us, but intensive systems continue to cause distress to millions of farm animals in Europe. That offends European citizens, and European institutions must recognise that fact.