Compassion welcomes recommendation to publish cage ban and broader animal welfare proposals

The report , released today by the European Commission, follows seven months of consultations with 29 major federations from the European agri-food sector, civil society and academia, to produce consensus on recommendations for the way forward for EU agriculture. Animal welfare concerns were represented by Eurogroup for Animals, of which Compassion is a member.

Announced in the State of the Union Address in September 2023 and launched in January 2024, the Strategic Dialogue gathered this broad range of stakeholders to come to agreement over how the EU should transition to more sustainable and humane farming.

A number of key points were agreed, including:

• A transition towards sustainable agri-food systems needs to prioritise high animal welfare standards, which should be supported by public money
• Proposals on the cages ban and revision of EU animal welfare legislation should be published by 2026
• Caged animal farming should be phased out with farmers fully compensated
• The need for coherence between animal welfare and trade concerns
• The need for a comprehensive pan-European animal welfare labelling scheme on all EU meat and dairy products so that consumers are able to play their part in achieving animal welfare improvements
• Technological innovations focused on sustainability should be subject to faster regulatory pathways, which should allow for unhindered approval of innovative alternative proteins
• An EU action plan for plant-based foods to ensure that sustainable and healthy food is widely available, accessible and affordable while rebalancing the consumption of animal and plant-based protein and shifting more to the latter.

In response to the successful End the Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative, signed by over 1.4 million EU citizens and led by Compassion in World Farming, the European Commission made a clear and legally-binding commitment in 2021 to introduce legislative proposals to end caged farming by the end of 2023.

Yet this commitment appeared to have been shelved in November 2023 when, to the dismay of campaigners and EU citizens, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the plan for the Strategic Dialogue instead of publishing the proposals.

Around 300 million pigs, laying hens, calves, geese, ducks and quail, are still confined in cages across Europe every year. Sows are forced to nurse their piglets in crates, rabbits and quail endure their whole lives in barren cages, and ducks and geese are caged for force feeding to produce foie gras.

The Commission plans to produce its own Vision for Agriculture and Food within the next 100 days outlining how it intends to take forward the Strategic Dialogue recommendations.

Peter Stevenson, Chief Policy Advisor at Compassion in World Farming, said: “It’s enormously encouraging that a consensus was reached by all parties on the much-needed transition to more sustainable and higher welfare EU farming.

“We now urge the European Commission to seize the moment and include clear timescales in its ‘Vision for Agriculture and Food’ to implement the agreed actions at the earliest possible opportunity. Around 300 million farmed animals are still suffering in cages every year while we wait for the promised ban - a measure supported by an overwhelming 89% of EU citizens1 as well as abundant scientific evidence.”

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For further information or to arrange interview contact marta.vigano (at) ciwf.org

Notes to editors

1. In October 2023, the Commission’s own Eurobarometer survey revealed that an overwhelming nine out of ten (89%) EU citizens – around 400 million people – believe animals should not be farmed in individual cages. There is also abundant scientific evidence confirming cages are severely detrimental to animal welfare, including the latest Scientific Opinions from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), recommending that cages should no longer be used for laying hens, breeding sows, quail and ducks.