Kyprianou set to unveil animal-welfare action plan

By David Cronin

Date: 12/01/06

An animal welfare label for meat, eggs and dairy products is being considered by the European Commission.

The idea of this scheme is included in an action plan on animal welfare to be presented by Markos Kyprianou, the commissioner for health and consumer protection, on 20 January.

It would be partly modelled on systems in some EU countries assuring consumers that food has been produced in conditions where animals have room to move freely, instead of being cramped together in a factory-like environment. Until now these schemes - for example, the 'Freedom Food' label set up by Britain's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - have generally been run by charities rather than by governmental organisations.

Sources say that the action plan will not make any specific recommendations about devoting greater financial resources to improving animal welfare standards across the Union.

But it will suggest that animal welfare should become a greater priority for the EU's activities in scientific research and that the Commission should have a greater role in raising awareness. One possibility raised is that the internet could be used to circulate teaching materials for schools.

To date, EU governments have agreed laws on the transport of live animals, battery hens and the conditions of pigs and calves.

Officials drafting the action plan are studying whether they should also propose EU-wide laws for dairy cows, turkeys, ducks and geese. Any measures on regulating the production of foie gras, which involves the force-feeding of ducks and geese, would prove controversial in Hungary, the world's biggest exporter of goose liver, and France and Belgium, where it is considered a delicacy.

Dil Peeling, of the Eurogroup for Animal Welfare, urged the Commission to study how animal welfare could be integrated more into its trade and agriculture policies. "We very much hope that this plan will lead to strong consistency across the Commission, rather than just being a list of ad hoc actions," he said.

Article reports that an animal welfare label for meat, eggs and dairy products was being considered by the European Commission. The idea of this scheme was included in an action plan on animal welfare to be presented by Markos Kyprianou, the Commissioner for health and consumer protection, on 20 January 2006.

European Commission: DG Health and Consumer Protection: Overview: Animal welfare http://ec.europa.eu/comm/food/animal/index_en.htm

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