Vision on Agriculture and Food must deliver for farmed animals, say campaigners

The European Commission must adopt the highest levels of ambition for policies and funding to deliver its promised proposals to ban caged farming and revise its animal welfare legislation, Compassion in World Farming urged today (19 Feb) in response to the Commission’s Vision for Agriculture and Food announcement.

While the NGO welcomed the renewed commitment to deliver the already long overdue proposals it called on the Commission to clarify the timing of the next steps leading to the ban on cages and the financial means to support farmers in the transition towards higher-welfare, sustainable food systems.

Unveiled by Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christophe Hansen and Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto, the Vision clarifies that the Commission will:

• Present “revised proposals on the revision of the existing animal welfare legislation” based on the latest scientific evidence, including its “commitment to phase out cages”;
• Consider “targeted labelling in relation to animal welfare”;
• Continue working to raise global standards in animal welfare - considered an area “critical for ensuring competitiveness”;
• Ensure that future proposals - like the ones on animal welfare - “apply the same standards for products produced in the EU and those imported from third countries”;
• Develop a “comprehensive plan” addressing “both the way protein is produced and consumed in the EU”.

On several occasions, the Commission has committed to “modernise existing EU animal welfare standards”, starting to publish proposals to follow up on the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) End the Cage Age (EtCA) in 2026, and using 2025 to conduct consultations with stakeholders.

In response to the successful End the Cage Age ECI, signed by over 1.4 million EU citizens and led by Compassion in World Farming, the Commission made a clear and legally-binding commitment in 2021 to introduce legislative proposals by 2023 to end caged farming by 2027. Regrettably, the previous Commission failed to deliver on its promise, shelving the proposals at the last moment. In response, the ECI’s Citizens’ Committee has launched legal action to hold the Commission to account.

Vinciane Patelou, Head of EU at Compassion in World Farming, said: "Our Vision for Agriculture and Food is one that has high animal welfare and environmental sustainability at its core as these are essential to providing a good future for animals, our planet and ensure farmers make a decent living. Polls consistently show that this is what EU citizens want too.

“While we are glad to see a renewed commitment to delivering the already long-overdue ban on cages, there cannot be any more delays or backward steps. That’s why we’ll continue our landmark legal case to ensure the European Commission delivers on its promise to relegate cages to the history books within a clear timeline."

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