As part of Eurogroup for Animals’ ‘No Animal Left Behind’ campaign, posters can be found in Brussels’ EU district this week targeting the European Commission in light of the “once in a lifetime opportunity” to change history for farmed animals with its imminent revision of animal welfare legislation.
EU animal welfare rules remain limited, poorly enforced, and plagued by loopholes, leading to widespread suffering in the farming sector. From the cruel handling of broiler chickens to chaining the back legs of dairy cows, our recent exposé reveals how the EU’s farmed animals are being callously treated by those who are meant to care for them.
At the end of March, Eurogroup for Animals launched the second phase of the ‘No Animals Left Behind’ campaign together with its over 80 member organisations around Europe and beyond. The campaign aims to expose existing animal welfare shortcomings in EU legislation and offer feasible solutions to the unnecessary suffering of the EU’s farmed animals that could be incorporated in the revised legislation due by the end of the year.
Posters were strategically placed around Brussels’ EU district to raise awareness about the upcoming revision of the EU’s animal welfare legislation and remind policy makers about EU citizens’ expectations in light of the mass public response to End the Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative, Fur Free Europe European Citizens’ Initiative and the first No Animal Left Behind campaign.
You know; fighting for the welfare of calves has always had a special ‘box’ within me.
In my 35+ years of live animal transport investigation work, the suffering of these babies on the road really used to get my goat more than just about anything.
“As British calves were being exported to the NL at the time; we took some time out of our schedule to ‘sniff around’ and find out a little more about places they were being sent to.
We shared many hours on the road; laughing, talking and generally trying to have a good time in work that we both knew the live animal export business caused immense suffering to – innocent, sentient beings. Calves“.
With calves, you often hear them long before you actually see the truck – they are babies, and they bellow immensely for the milk produced from the mothers that they have been torn away from at what ?, often ages of just 1 day old. Cow milk is for baby cows, NOT humans; yet the systems today try to make people think that humans are in need of cow milk, not the cow babies.
I took this picture above decades ago of British calves being exported to the veal systems of France and the Netherlands, you can just make out the calves suckling the bars of the transporter; desperate for milk held within their mothers. This is the reality of live animal transport; and just one reason of thousands why it needs to stop now.
In the past calves were held in individual ‘crates’ until they reached slaughter age of around 4 to 6 months. During their short lives in the crates; they were deprived of any iron in their food; to make them anemic and thus make their flesh ‘white’ as required by the gastronauts of Europe. What humans do to animals in the name of ‘food’ just really bums me off.
Anemia is defined as a low number of red blood cells. In a routine blood test, anemia is reported as a low hemoglobin or hematocrit. Hemoglobin is the main protein in red blood cells. It carries oxygen, and delivers it throughout the body. If you have anemia, your hemoglobin level will be low too.
We fought hard for the calves – (above) here I am (with Barb, a hunt sab) at Dover port (where calves were exported from) after we had put the British Prime Minister (at the time John Major) into the crate to get a feel for what he was approving. You can see the liberated calf standing alongside.
Here are some pictures of real calves suffering in the crate systems. Every one a valid reason why I fight tooth and nail for the calves;
Above – an investigation showed British calves were being exported to Hungary and that they were still being crated individually years after the EU ban came into place !
Above – with our tour truck in Holland teaching the Dutch about live veal systems.
Above – great campaigning days in the Netherlands for the calves.
Here – photographs from a PMAF investigation which I used in the compilation of an EU Parliament investigations report on calves being transported to France.
Above – Dover demo with animal buddies fighting live calf exports.
Often it feels like you are running up that hill – but a positive end makes it all worth it:
Regards Mark
EFSA opinions on the welfare of calves
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published today their scientific opinion on calf welfare. The EFSA was mandated to describe the most used systems, their welfare consequences and measures to prevent and mitigate those consequences.
Welfare of calves reared for white veal (including requirements for space, group housing and iron intake),
Risk of limited contact between mother and calf
What type indicators can be measured in slaughterhouses to monitor the welfare on farm.
A species-specific Directive already exists to protect calves in the EU (Council Directive 2008/11/EC), yet it is extremely outdated, and fails to take into account new science published since it was adopted in 2008. Proof of this is that EFSA identified several hazards connected to these systems ranging from respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases to inability to perform natural behaviours or even calves experiencing group stress.
They have advised several solutions that Eurogroup for Animals welcomes:
Group housing from the first week of life (between 2 to 7 calves) and keeping them in stable groups.
Increased space allowance – 20 m² is recommended so calves can express their full behaviour and 3 m³ is the minimum recommended per calf (all in group housing)
In regards to feeding: Good colostrum intake, increased amount of milk provided, and good quality roughage availability from 2 weeks of age.
Several welfare indicators can be collected in the slaughterhouse, but they should be complemented with behavioural ones collected on farm
Regrettably, although the available science already points towards a need for a longer period of cow-calf contact and bonding, EFSA took a conservative approach, only recommending a minimum 24 hours of cow-calf contact. We strongly oppose this conclusion. Cow and calf contact can reduce stress of both adult females and calves, it increases the vitality and resilience of the calves and leads to an increase in body weight gain of the calves. Furthermore, it provides a better social behaviour for the calves in the long run that is prolonged until adult age. It also leads to an increased expression of positive behaviours for both. Eurogroup for Animals recommends that contact between the calf and the mother should be allowed for at least the first eight weeks of age. During this period, calves and cows shall be kept in a half-day contact system – at least – with suckling permitted.
Furthermore, Eurogroup for Animals would like to see a more science-driven, animal welfare approach when it comes to iron levels in the calves’ blood. For acceptable blood levels of iron, we recommend a blood haemoglobin concentration of at least 6,0 mmol/L throughout the life of the calf, as already required by the German Directive 2008/119 (EFSA is recommending 5.3 mmol/L).
The science demonstrates that business as usual for calves is not going to work anymore. We urge the Commission to listen to the science and seriously improve the species-specific legislation to protect calves in the EU and beyond.
Welfare of calves kept for white and rosé veal production
Pauline has sent a few more photos – mainly young squirrels, a Cormorant with an eel, and a lazy free range (how it should be !) pig being visited by a magpie.
In 2022, the European Commission published its proposal for an EU Nature Restoration Law.
This is landmark legislation for the conservation of wild animals habitats in the EU and the time to act is now!
Add your voice to the thousands of citizens calling on the EU to adopt an ambitious EU Nature Restoration Law.
The proposed EU Nature Restoration Law sets an overall target of restoring 20% of the EU’s land and sea area by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050. This is an ambitious and appropriate target, essential for the EU’s wild animals which are suffering from a decline in the quality of their habitats.
Indeed, rich and undisturbed habitats are key for the well-being of wild animals. In a world where all animals and species, including humans, are interdependent and rely on healthy ecosystems, nature restoration and conservation is a priority.
Eurogroup for Animals therefore calls for the EU Nature Restoration Law to fulfil three objectives:
It must effectively protect and restore all natural habitats to safeguard the well being of millions of wild animals and humans;
It must recognise and take into account the interdependence of living beings in line with the One Health and One Welfare approaches;
It must fully integrate the welfare of wild animals as an indicator and objective of conservation and restoration activities.
In this context, the well-being of wild animals must be addressed in the definitions of “sufficient quality of habitat” and “sufficient quantity of habitat”. Similarly, the legislation should ensure that a “favourable reference area” for the given habitats is defined as more than the minimum required, so that wild animals can thrive rather than simply survive. The proposal should also ensure connectivity between habitats so that wild animals do not encounter obstacles to their movement on land or water. The ethological requirements of species must also be adequately taken into account in restoration activities.
If you agree with these statements, tell your decision-makers to keep high ambitions and fully integrate animal welfare considerations in the EU Nature Restoration law to protect the habitats and ecosystems on which humans and wildlife depend.
In the year of the onset of the pandemic, many scientific projects that had planned to use animals were cancelled or postponed, though a number of new studies involving animals were carried out for projects studying COVID-19.
The European Commission has published its statistical report on the use of animals for scientific purposes in the 27 EU Member States and Norway in 2020. This is the first year that data from the United Kingdom – a major user of animals – are no longer included. Four of the 12 countries that saw an increase in the number of animals used, attribute the increase to additional research projects related to COVID-19.
In 2020, 7,938,064 animals were used for the first time in research, testing and education in the EU-27 and Norway. Although this represents a decrease of 7.5% compared to 2019, multiple factors relating to the COVID-19 pandemic makes comparisons with previous years difficult. National measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic were at least partly responsible for the decrease in the number of animals used for scientific purposes in 11 Member States. 1.8 million animals used for scientific purposes were genetically altered, including mice, zebrafish and other species of fish, rats, amphibians, domestic fowl, rabbits, and pigs.
Another 686,628 animals were reported to be used for the creation and maintenance of genetically altered (GA) animal lines, representing an increase of 4% from 2019. In contrast to previous years, marmosets and tamarins were not reported to be used for the creation of new GA animal lines in 2020. It should be noted, however, that animals used for the maintenance of GA animal lines not displaying a harmful phenotype or not genotyped using an invasive method remain outside the scope of the annual statistical reporting. Also, the European Commission acknowledges that the accurate reporting of animals involved in the maintenance of existing GA lines continues to be particularly challenging.
The report describes considerable new increases in uses of many species. The use of horses, donkeys and cross-breeds increased by 176%, and the use of cats continued the upward trend, increasing by a further 15%. The use of hamsters and other carnivores increased by 66% and 59% respectively. The use of dogs and non-human primates, however, decreased by 16% and 10% respectively. There was also a significant decrease of 90% in the use of cephalopods, which had seen a major increase in 2019.
The main species used for scientific purposes were mice, fish, rats and birds, which together represented 91% of the total number of animals. As in previous years, more than 70% of animals were used for research purposes, of which approximately 40% were used for basic research and 30% for translational and applied research. A further 17% of uses of animals were for regulatory purposes to satisfy legal requirements. The percentage of uses that caused ‘severe’ suffering remained around 10% (796,750 uses).
Non-human primates continue to be used in the largest numbers to satisfy regulatory requirements for medicinal products for human use (59%), and also for routine production, mostly for blood based products (13%), for studying human infectious disorders (11%), and for other basic research (4%). 81% of the non-human primates used for scientific purposes were born in Asia and Africa, before being transported to laboratories in the EU. Although the Directive encourages movement towards only using non-human primates who have been bred, ultimately, in self-sustaining colonies, the proportion of non-human primates coming from self-sustaining colonies is still low, and decreased by 15% from the previous year. However, inaccurate reporting of information, and a misunderstanding of the term ‘self-sustaining colony’ may have resulted in some fluctuation in numbers over time.
The use of an animal in any procedure where a validated alternative method, that either avoids the use of animals altogether, or reduces their use and suffering, will always be of particular concern. Nearly 42,000 mice were used in 2020 for the production of monoclonal antibodies using the mouse ascites method, mainly in France (95%). The continued use of this method is of serious concern, even more so as the figure actually represents an increase of 12% from the previous year, and because alternative approaches are available to replace the mouse ascites method. A more positive trend is seen in the uses of rabbits for pyrogenicity tests, which decreased by 21%, but it is clear that more efforts should be made to speed up the transition to non-animal methods.
As in previous years, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark remain the EU Member States with the highest number of animals used for scientific purposes, with more than 5.3 million animals used between them in 2020. However, a recent opinion poll carried out in these 8 Member States highlighted the public’s strong desire to accelerate the full replacement of animals used for scientific purposes and transition to non-animal science.
Essere Animali, recently collected footage that exposed the conditions lambs face while being transported during Easter. Their investigation was raised to the Chamber of Deputies at the Italian Parliament during yesterday’s ‘question time’ by Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida.
Poor and ineffective controls. The rules on animal transport in Italy are not respected
This was said by Eleonora Evi, deputy of Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra, who tabled a direct question to the Minister precisely to highlight the dramatic problems that still affect live animal transport, particularly long-distance transport.
‘Italy is a country much affected by the long-distance transport of lambs and young sheep, especially during the Christmas and Easter holidays.
In 2022 – out of a total of 2,199,832 lambs slaughtered in Italy (source: Istat) – 653,303 came from Eastern Europe (mainly from Hungary and Romania). These transports often involve animals that are only a few weeks old, which have to endure traveling up to 30 hours inside trucks.
Last March, Essere Animali, along with members from the police, carried out road checks from Gonars to the province of Bologna and Florence to monitor the transport of lambs arriving from Romania, Hungary and Slovakia. Six out of seven lorries were traveling in violation of the rules, with serious cases of overcrowding, lambs stuck in the partitions of the lorries, unusable watering systems and being generally unsuitable for the transport of this species.
In one case in particular, the lorry stopped near Altedo (Bologna) had 200 animals more than the permitted load, and three lambs were slaughtered by the Italian authorities because they were no longer able to continue the journey. Ultimately, current regulations are inadequate to guarantee the protection of animals during transport, one of the most stressful phases and cause of suffering for animals raised for food’.
It’s time to change the trend – and call for this cruelty to end
The images and complaints collected by Essere Animali and the police once more show how the transport of live animals is a practice that must be overcome, and how important it is to robustly revise the rules that should protect animals during journeys.
When questioned on the revision of the European Regulation on the transport of live animals during the Question Time in the plenary session, Minister Lollobrigida confirmed that he did not support Portugal’s proposal, contrary to what was previously stated. Portugal’s briefing note, strongly contested by many other Member States, in fact re-proposes the status quo and calls for ‘continuing to facilitate intra-EU trade and the export of live animals, without focusing on measures to ban or restrict certain types of transport’.
Evi adds: ‘This position is frankly unacceptable, considering that the current European Regulation is not only incomplete – a condition unexpectedly noted by the Minister himself – but also outdated and very weak as well as constantly violated by the Member States… [it] is disavowed day after day by the incredible amount of analyses and scientific opinions that confirm what we have been advocating for some time: the need for rules that protect animal welfare starting from species-specific needs’.
‘We therefore take note of a possible change of position on the part of Italy, which has until now been ambiguous in its positions at European level, and certainly not vocal against maintaining the status quo unlike many other EU states. We therefore expect to see, in line with what the Minister has said, our country lined up with those countries that play a proactive role at European level in support of ambitious and courageous positions to provide the EU with a transport regulation that seriously focuses on animal welfare, starting with listening to scientific recommendations, greatly reducing traveling hours, banning long journeys and exporting outside the EU, banning the transport of unweaned animals and creating the conditions for a transition to transporting meat, carcasses and genetic material instead of live animals,’ she concludes.
A new poll, carried out by Savanta ComRes in 8 EU countries last November, reveals the public’s concerns about the use of animals in research, testing and education.
In particular, the survey highlights the need to do more to accelerate the full replacement of animals used for scientific purposes, and to move towards animal-free science and innovation.
The poll revealed that:
73% agree that they are very concerned about the use of animals in scientific research, testing and education.
76% agree that more needs to be done to accelerate the full replacement of animal experiments in scientific research, testing and education.
77% agree that the European Commission and its Member States should develop a coordinated strategy to transition to scientific research, testing, and education without the use of animals.
75% also agree that the European Union should be a global leader in moving towards science and innovation without the use of animals.
A similar percentage is found among Finnish citizens, according to a 2021 opinion poll conducted by Taloustutkimus, which shows that 78% of Finns agree that animal testing should gradually be replaced by non-animal methods.
The results of these surveys reinforce the public’s strong desire to move away from animal testing as illustrated by the recent European citizens’ initiative “Save Cruelty Free Cosmetics – Commit to a Europe Without Animal Testing” which gathered over 1.2 million signatures, and passed the minimum threshold in no less than 21 EU Member States. It also echoes the 2021 European Parliament’s resolution, which calls on the European Commission to coordinate together with Member States a concrete plan to accelerate the transition to non-animal testing.
Other European countries, such as Switzerland and Norway, also support a transition to non-animal science, with the new poll showing that 68% of Swiss and 64% of Norwegians agree that their country should commit to transition to scientific research, testing, and education without the use of animals.
Recognising the scientific and ethical concerns associated with animal-based research, several European countries have in recent years declared their intention to reduce and replace the use of animals in science. The Netherlands has a well-defined and transparent initiative in place to transition to non-animal science. The new German government is committed to implementing a strategy to reduce animal experiments, and promote research on non-animal methods. In 2021, and the Flemish Parliament launched a project to develop an action plan to reduce the use of animals for scientific purposes. In the same year, the Swedish 3Rs Centre published a preliminary strategy to limit the use of animals in research, testing and teaching, as requested by the Swedish Government. In 2020, the Norwegian National Experimental Animals Committee proposed a series of steps to develop a concrete plan for a transition to non-animal science.
Given the massive EU-wide support for moving towards non-animal science and the impressive toolbox of advanced non-animal approaches increasingly at our disposal across a number of area, the EU has the ingredients needed to increase its ambition and efforts to transition to non-animal science.
Featherless, panicking laying hens shoved into crates and sent to slaughter; lame mother sows, a spray mark on their backs to indicate that their time is up; and then millions of rabbits, ducks, geese, quails confined for part or all of their short lives in wire cages, in dimly lit warehouse-like barns, inhaling dust and ammonia from their own waste.
I think that by now we are all familiar with the images, the investigations, the scandals, and the misery they inexorably document. What was once considered normal, and even necessary to produce cheap animal products, has become so controversial that European citizens have asked the European Commission to stop it.
End the Cage Age, led by our member Compassion in World Farming, collected the third highest number of signatures in the history of European Citizens’ Initiatives. The request to stop caged farming was not whispered, it was shouted loud and clear.
The message did not fall on deaf ears: with a historical decision, the European Commission, in its official response to the ECI, committed to put forward a legislative proposal by the end of 2023 to phase out cages from animal farming. The proposal was included within the scope of the ongoing revision of the animal welfare legislation, a necessary step to create a level-playing field for farmers throughout and beyond Europe. The transition will require substantial public financial support to enable farmers to invest in cage-free, higher welfare systems: let us not forget that almost half of the EU egg production still derives from caged hens. As for other animals, such as sows, quails and rabbits, over 90% of the production relies on the use of cages.
Change is scary, especially for an industry that is used to getting its own way, holding political institutions hostage with the rhetoric of ensuring food security and bringing home hefty profits from exports. But we know all too well that this is only one side of the story, specifically the one that omits the externalised costs of cheap animal products, including the looming public health threats posed by global pandemics and antimicrobial resistance. The animal farming industry’s lobbying machine is currently focused on dismantling many of the most ambitious objectives of the EU Farm to Fork strategy under the assumption that not only improving animal welfare, but also investing in sustainable food systems, will spell disaster for consumers, farmers, and the EU economic outlook at large.
This is also one of the reasons why, according to some, the cage-free transition should be postponed as much as possible. However, while the time will probably never be right for the industry, for European citizens the time is now. I am saying this as a rebuttal to some parties who are throwing spanners in the wheels of a speedy transition: true, the current economic outlook is not rosy, but farmers can and should be vocal in demanding that, starting from now, Member States allocate as many resources as possible under CAP and national payment schemes to anticipate the legislative change ahead. Stockmanship, human-animal relationships, breeding objectives, feeding strategies, animal health programs, will all need to adapt to the new species-specific cage-free environments; many of these aspects are already eligible for financial support under various EU and/or national payment schemes.
If sufficient financial support is provided, there is agreement among industry stakeholders that most sectors can switch to cage-free farming within 3-5 years. As shown by our recent report investigating industry stakeholders’ views on the practical and economic aspects of the cage-free transition, a staggered approach with different deadlines per sector is possibly the best way forward as it would allow for a gradual adaptation to cage-free farming.
The industry recognises that the impetus is there, and the answers to the most pressing questions – as well as technical solutions – can be found by studying the business models of many European producers who voluntarily and successfully switched to higher welfare, cage-free systems. We do not need to reinvent the wheel: our report illustrates in detail many examples of good and best practices that can be adopted to make the cage-free transition as smooth as possible, while also leaving room for continuous improvement.
For me, these are all reasons to accelerate, rather than delay, the cage-free revolution. Granting a reasonably swift transition period in the legislation can actually even mitigate the risk of creating disparity amongst Member States.
For instance, according to the latest report on the fitness check of the current animal welfare legislation, the long transition period to enriched cages led some producers to wait until the last possible moment before changing their infrastructure, which unnecessarily increased prices and created a situation of unfair competition amongst Member States.
For all these reasons, I hope that the phase-out period to shift to cage-free farming will be as short as reasonably possible and that it will be used wisely, making the most of all the forms of financial support currently available. The animal protection movement will play its part, of course, communicating to citizens and policymakers about the importance of supporting this transition in any way possible.
In my view, however, it will be equally important to promote a shift in mentality, from treating animals as commodities to seeing them for what they are, sentient beings worthy of good lives, however short we decide that these lives should be.
Phasing out cages in the EU: the road to a smooth transition
Across Europe, millions of caged rabbits are living in a real-life horror story. Crammed into tiny prisons with their peers – with no access to things to interact with and nowhere to exercise, play, and rest – their daily lives are filled with boredom, frustration and physical and mental suffering. The European Commission has the power to change that when revising the animal welfare legislation this year, by including specific laws for rabbits that address their needs.
Rabbits are fascinating, complex animals. Curious and social by nature, they love living in groups and socialising with others – but like any sentient being, it’s also important to them to be able to rest and spend time alone. What’s more, their teeth are always growing, so it’s important for rabbits to always have something to chew on.
Unfortunately, these essential needs are far from met in Europe’s current farming systems. Rather than having the space and opportunities to truly be themselves, rabbits are forced into tiny cages – many of which are no bigger than an A4 piece of paper – and, as our recent exposé revealed, forced to spend their days in the most miserable conditions.
Rabbits in cages experience a wealth of problems – some of which are deadly
These poor beings:
Are frequently stressed and frustrated, which can lead to injuries and health issues. In turn, a higher number of antibiotics are often used on factory farmed rabbits, driving the antimicrobial crisis
Are unable to move their bodies properly – many can’t even stand up or stretch out. This is mentally and physically distressing, and can cause painful problems such as frail bones
Struggle psychologically – high cortisol and low dopamine/serotonin levels are commonly seen in factory farmed rabbits, which are major indicators of poor mental health
Often suffer from digestive disorders due to poor hygiene – which can cause high mortality rates with kittens (baby rabbits) in particular
Can’t look after themselves or follow their instincts – with no materials to chew on, rabbits in cages can’t do anything about their ever-growing teeth, resulting in even more pain and difficulty eating.
Europe’s farmed rabbits don’t have to live this way
Many of the problems farmed rabbits face are enabled by existing loopholes and oversights in the European Commission’s animal welfare legislation. What’s more, there are no existing laws that address the welfare of farmed rabbits specifically – which they desperately need.
The European Commission has the power to change all of this when they revise the animal welfare legislation later this year, by including strong, precise, and targeted rules for rabbit welfare that take into account their unique natures.
Farmed rabbits have not been domesticated for as long as other farmed species, and still exhibit the same behaviours and instincts as seen in their wild counterparts. Life in a cage is an unimaginable struggle for them, and having already promised to End The Cage Age following a successful ECI, the European Commission must now consider how to phase out cages for these dynamic beings in a swift and effective manner. We’ve already done a lot of the groundwork by compiling case studies, scientific evidence, and data from across the EU that explores this transition in our new report.
Rabbits deserve better. They need their freedom and space, along with access to good nutrition, clean water, and enrichment materials with which they can play and look after themselves properly. There is no substitute for these basic needs.
We’re trying to change history for farm animals this year through phase two of the No Animal Left Behind campaign. Find out more.
World Animals Voice 