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Abstract: Animal welfare assumes a certain relevance within a farm context in the European Union through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). In the face of a wide range of animal welfare legislation enacted in Europe since the 1970s, also following ambitious public and private debates sometimes supported by scientific research, “animal welfare” has been part of the CAP since 1999. This paper outlines the evolutionary path of the animal welfare issue within the CAP, underlining the role it plays in a context of interrelations with other central and recurrent strategic themes in European policies. Indeed, the role of animal welfare within the CAP has been increasingly valorized and addressed to animal-oriented protection while intersecting with different strategic objectives over the course of time, which currently relate particularly to the environment and climate with the aim of supporting the ecological transition highlighting the practical implications for involved farmers and stakeholders. The new provisions of the CAP will take effect from 2023 until 2027, whereas currently Regulation (EU) 2020/2220 covers the delay concerning the Commission’s legislative proposals on the CAP after 2020. The paper drafts the regulatory progression of the virtuous path that the new CAP has consolidated over time for the improvement of animal welfare in the livestock sector, which is also linked to the future development of innovative technologies for a strategic approach including digital methods at farm and/or animal level.
Abstract: This article presents an analysis of the Farm to Fork Strategy (F2F Strategy) on animal welfare matters though the lens of EU trade policy and public participation. It shows that the mix of cooperation tools contained in bilateral agreements with trade components support in aggregate the Strategy's actions on animal welfare. However, individual bilateral agreements may need to be renegotiated and modernised to include more powerful cooperation tools to achieve sustainable food systems through the adoption and implementation of animal welfare standards. One way of achieving this is to negotiate the inclusion of sustainable food systems chapters that highlight the linkages between animal welfare, agriculture, sustainability, climate, environment, and public health. However, such robust chapters should be monitored and enforced in a correspondingly robust manner, for example, by restructuring chapters' committees and work groups. The article concludes that enhanced public participation, both at the level of legislative proposals (public consultations) and at the level of trade policy (domestic advisory groups, standardisation committees), may better support achieving policy objectves of animal welfare measures of the F2F Strategy.
Abstract: In the one health approach, which summarizes the concept that human, animal, and plant health are interdependent and linked to the ecosystems in which they exist, animal welfare assumes an important role. In addition, the Farm to Fork Strategy of the European Union recognizes animal welfare as an essential component. Transport of animals involves a number of issues related to welfare. Animals are subjected to continuous stress, not only during transit on vehicles, vessels, trains, or airplanes, but also during loading and unloading operations. The handling and transport conditions have improved from basic and relatively rudimentary systems, with elements to attenuate the discomfort of animals having been gradually introduced, especially for long-distance transport. Despite several improvements in animal welfare standards during transportation there are still pressing issues in current EU legislation which deserve reviewing. Recently, several scientific opinions on animal welfare, including during transport, have been published by the European Food Safety Agency, following requests by the European Commission. (…)
Abstract : Literature related to European transport and slaughter processes were included in this systematic review. The publication period is limited to the past twelve years since the European Animal Welfare Transport Regulation was enacted in 2009. Three different databases were used. The final screening resulted in the inclusion of 19 articles in this review. When handling cattle during transport and slaughter, personnel have an important impact and may inflict stress on the animals. Other factors, such as the group composition and health status prior to transport, can have a strong negative effect on animal welfare. At the abattoir, constructional conditions and the resulting environmental influences can have a negative impact on welfare as well. These include increased noise levels due to the lack of noise dampening and changing light conditions. Stress in cattle can be assessed, e.g., by measuring stress hormones or heart rate. Effective stunning is an important welfare-relevant step in the slaughtering process. Some signs of unconsciousness, such as immediate body collapse or absence of the corneal reflex, can be easily assessed. Expertise and continuous training of all personnel involved are important measures in stress reduction.
Abstract: This article suggests a way to inquire into animal protection politics as a specific field of international politics which regulates human-animal relations. Based on a genealogical analysis of the emergence of animal protection thinking in 19th and 20th century Great Britain, it argues that animal protection is structured by two specific strategies, anti-cruelty and animal welfare, that constitute our knowledge of what animal protection is and how it can be achieved. Whereas animal welfare suggests that animal protection means the meticulous technical standardisation of animal use along the scientific knowledge about particular species’ stress levels, anti-cruelty takes a moral approach and suggests that animal protection can be achieved by taming the cruel human subject by means of legal prohibition. The article uses these strategies as an interpretative lens for analysing the EU’s behaviour in the seal products case. It argues that the ban of the trade in seal products can be understood as the result of the anti-cruelty strategy gaining dominance in the EU debates on its seal policy. Moreover, in the ensuing WTO struggle the moral undertones of anti-cruelty made it possible for the EU to frame the ban as the protection of public morals under Article XX (a) GATT and thus to establish animal protection as a legitimate ground for trade restrictions. The antagonistic identity construction attached to anti-cruelty moreover made it possible for the EU to constitute itself as a morally superior subject and to re-emerge as a normative power in the context of animal protection. The article concludes by reflecting about further avenues for research on international animal protection politics.
Abstract: Ethical treatment of animals is the keystone of livestock production. Assessment of welfare isintegral to assurance that animals experience a good life. Underpinning assurance are concepts of what constitutes good welfare, a good life and wellbeing. This review examines the concepts of welfare and wellbeing and the frameworks that have been developed for describing their scope. Historically, the tripartite model of welfare (feeling well, functioning well, leading a natural life) has been translated into the Five Freedoms (FF), Five Domains (FD), Good Life (GL), Welfare through Competence (WtC) and OIE World Organisation for Animal Health Welfare Principles frameworks. These frameworks provide scaffolds for numerous welfare assessment schemes. However, the three-part model of wellbeing (eudaimonia, hedonia, social interaction) lacks an explicit assessment framework, although FD, GL and WtC implicitly address aspects of wellbeing. Whereas positive affective (hedonic) experiences are considered to constitute positive welfare, positive aspects of eudaimonic function and social interaction are considered to be aspects of wellbeing above and beyond any indirect contribution they make to positive affective experiences (i.e. positive welfare). In this view, positive health is more than the absence of ill-health and positive social interactions are more than freedom from social isolation. New phenotypes in farm animals identified through analysis of sensor data are providing new perspectives on the functional integrity of biological processes that align well with concepts of wellbeing. These analyses draw on methods in resilience theory to examine stability in complex dynamic systems, specifically, uniformity of trajectories, periodicity of biorhythms and complexity of networks. (...)
Abstract: The development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is linked to the imprudent use of antimicrobials and is fuelled by industrial farming, accounting for 70% of antimicrobial use. Tackling AMR requires a One Health approach that addresses the root causes of high antimicrobials use in intensive farming and generates co-benefits for human, animal and environmental health. On intensive farms animals are mostly of high-yield breeds and are exposed to stressors, which leads to immunosuppression, increasing susceptibility to infections that need antimicrobial therapy. To combat AMR the EU Commission adopted legislation prohibiting the use of antimicrobials to compensate for poor husbandry and management. However, there is a gap in policy regarding animal welfare improvements necessary to reduce the need for antimicrobials. We assess how the EU animal welfare legislation, under revision, can contribute to filling this gap by providing the regulatory framework for improvements needed to reduce antimicrobial use. Methods include literature review and expert interviews in an approach that integrates knowledge across the human-animal-environmental sectors. Improvements in husbandry and management (lower stocking density, outdoor access, genetic diversity, etc.) positively impact animal health and welfare, consequently reducing susceptibility to infections and antimicrobial use. By prescribing these improvements the revised animal welfare legislation can have a synergistic effect with the Veterinary Products Regulation, in line with the Farm to Fork strategy, and provide the regulatory framework for higher animal welfare standards that reduce antimicrobial use. The positive correlation between higher animal welfare and the reduced need for antimicrobials demonstrates the urgency of improving welfare in farming as a key strategy to limit AMR. It builds the case for an ambitious revision of the EU animal welfare legislation to protect animal and human health in line with One Health
Extrait : Le 16 décembre 2021, le ministre français de l'Agriculture a pris un arrêté, entré en vigueur le 1er janvier 2022, définissant « les modalités de désignation des référents « bien-être animal » dans tous les élevages et l'obligation et les conditions de formation au bien-être animal des personnes désignées référentes dans les élevages de porcs ou de volailles ». Les quatre premiers visas du texte renvoient quatre directives adoptées dans l'Union européenne, depuis 1998, toutes ayant pour objectif le meilleur traitement des animaux d'élevage. [...]
Abstract: Since the 1960s, the European Union (EU) has made efforts to ensure the welfare of farm animals. The system of EU minimum standards has contributed to improved conditions; however, it has not been able to address the deeper factors that lead to the intensification of animal farming and the consolidation of the processing sector. These issues, along with major competitive pressures and imbalances in economic power, have led to a conflict of interest between animal industries, reformers, and regulators. While the priorities of the European Green Deal and the End the Cage Age initiatives are to induce a rapid phasing out of large-scale cage-based farming systems, the industry faces the need to operate on a highly competitive global market. Animal farmers are also under pressure to decrease input costs, severely limiting their ability to put positive animal-care values into practice. To ensure a truly effective transition, efforts need to go beyond new regulations on farm animal welfare and address drivers that push production toward a level of confinement and cost-cutting. Given the right socio-economic and policy incentives, a transition away from intensive farming methods could be facilitated by incentives supporting farm diversification, alternative technologies, and marketing strategies.
Abstract: In 1979, the Council of the European Communities declared its intention to ban battery cages for laying hens; one year later, everything about the ban is forgotten. During this preparatory year (1979-1980), all that happened is the publication of scientific reports, that is, attempts at producing knowledge as a basis for and justification of the ban decision. This paper aims at understanding to what extent ignorance and doubt were produced instead. By examining the reports, I demonstrate that there are three interrelated levels of ignorance production: (1) the missions given by the Commission to scientists were ambiguous, (2) questions inherent to animal welfare sciences, such as the significant variability of their measures and results, lead to a systematic standardization, and (3) the battery cage works as a techno-scientific promise and an “obligatory passage point” where scientists and industry meet. Disciplinary identity issues therefore lead scientists to adopt a double standard about the welfare of laying hens.
Abstract: The paper analyzes the impact of trade relations between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur with its member states (Argentina, and Brazil, in particular), on the adoption of legislation on animal welfare inspired by the EU model. In the first part, the paper focuses on the historical roots of the European framework, which led “animal welfare” to become an EU value. Then, it briefly explores the EU legal instrument dedicated to breeding, transport and commercialization of animals, identified as core issues when dealing with international trade. Finally, it examines how Argentina and Brazil have adapted their national rules to the European model, thanks to a “mirroring” legislation strategy. In conclusion, the analysis shows how trade relations with the EU have an impact on the worldwide diffusion of European standards.
Abstract: Today, there are a dozen labelling schemes pertaining to farm animal welfare in at least seven Member States. Despite the proliferation of animal welfare labels, European Union rules on food information to consumers concerning the treatment of farmed animals used in animal-source food production remain fragmented and incomplete. On the one hand, the rules contained in agricultural regulations primarily aim to harmonise marketing standards, but only for some products. On the other hand, consumer protection rules aim to protect consumers from misleading commercial claims but not misleading claims about animal treatment specifically. After examining the situation that has led to the proliferation of animal welfare food labels in the European Union, this article analyses the animal welfare food labelling landscape and presents different regulatory pathways to best harmonise consumer information on farm animal welfare.
Abstract: The Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council has been in force for more than a decade and has brought about significant improvements and novel requirements for the welfare of animals used for scientific purposes, while safeguarding research integrity. The Directive sets clear provisions for its scope, the authorization procedures, animal welfare bodies, national committees, cost/benefit analysis, severity classification, retrospective assessment, and statistical reporting, among many others. From this perspective, indicative areas in the existing legislative texts and guidance documents, which may influence animal welfare and scientific integrity, have been identified by the authors after years of working in this field. Suggested solutions to address these areas by potential future revisions in the legislation or other actions to benefit animal welfare are discussed, with the aim to clarify and simplify them for all stakeholders involved.
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