Brussels, 18 November 2010
Animal Welfare must be central to
revised Common Agriculture Policy
Today the European Commission
published its Communication on the revision of the Common Agriculture
policy (CAP). Eurogroup for Animals is disappointed that the Commission
has not used this opportunity to put animal welfare at the heart of
agricultural best practice. This goes against the concerns of Europe's
citizens who expect their food to be produced without animal suffering.
The Communication published today mentions that farmers must respect EU
animal welfare rules but does little to concretely support the move to
high welfare and more sustainable animal production systems.
"The
Commission has focused on competitiveness, public goods and sustainable
use of resources as some of its key objectives and improving animal welfare in agriculture has the potential to deliver on all three," said
V�ronique Schmit, Executive Officer Policy of Eurogroup for Animals.
"The future CAP must improve animal welfare by incorporating it in both
pillars of the policy, through direct payments to farmers and through
rural development measures. It is also essential that compliance with EU
legislation is ensured through stricter controls," she concluded.
Eurogroup for Animals will work with the European Parliament and the
Council to ensure animal welfare is incorporated more robustly in the
CAP. We hope that policy makers will recognise animal welfare as a
public good and support the demands of Europe's citizens.
- ENDS
-
-
For more information, contact:
Liesbet Dendas, Eurogroups'
Information officer on
l.dendas@eurogroupforanimals.org or telephone
+32 2 740 08 90.
Notes:
Eurogroup for Animals represents 47 animal welfare
organisations in nearly all EU member states. Since it was launched in
1980, the organisation has succeeded in encouraging the European Union
to adopt higher legal standards of animal protection. For more
information about Eurogroup, visit
www.eurogroupforanimals.org .
Eurogroup's positions on the CAP are available at:
http://www.eurogroupforanimals.org/policy/agric_policy.htm
