The European Commission has launched a public consultation on animal welfare policies which will be used to inform the commission’s future policies on the issue.
In 2012 the commission adopted a strategy for animal protection and welfare, which defined a number of priorities and actions aimed at improving the welfare of animals.
These actions were completed in 2018, and in 2019, the European Court of Auditors recommended that the strategy should be evaluated.
The aim of the evaluation, the commission says, is to assess if the strategy delivered on its objectives, and if those objectives are “relevant and coherent” today.
“The evaluation will inform any future EU initiatives on animal welfare,” the commission explained in a statement.
The public consultation is aimed at collecting the views of individuals and organisations who would not be approached through other consultation means in the course of the study.
It will assess the strategy’s overall effectiveness, efficiency, relevance and coherence, including how it fits in with other EU policies (including animal health, agricultural, trade, the Single Market, fisheries, research and environment).
The stakeholders who are targeted in the public consultation include:
- Competent authorities responsible for animal welfare;
- Business and professional organisations;
- EU citizens and consumers;
- Organisations from civil society;
- Independent experts from academic and research institutes;
- EU bodies, including the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA);
- International intergovernmental organisations active on animal welfare;
- Third (non-EU) countries.
For more information on the consultation, click here.