1 July 2009

The European Commission will be taking Spain to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) over the country’s failure to properly enforce EU rules on the keeping of animals in zoos.

This legal action follows years of monitoring, evidence gathering and reporting of the violations found in Spanish zoos by Eurogroup for Animals and its Spanish member ANDA.

The EU’s Zoo Directive required Spain to have inspected and licensed all of its zoos by April 2005. This deadline was not respected and even today there are still zoos operating without the necessary licensing and a guarantee that all animals residing in these zoos are kept and cared for in welfare friendly conditions.

In the past few years, at least 12 zoological parks were closed as a consequence of our campaign. Eurogroup is pleased to see the Commission finally taking action against a country that has been allowed to flout the rules for too long. Eurogroup’s Director, Sonja Van Tichelen, responded to this wonderful news by saying that “We hope that with the threat of an EU fine, this will push the Spanish authorities to make a difference for the animals kept in Spanish zoos”.

23 June 2009

European Ministers of Agriculture yesterday agreed a new EU law which should improve the welfare of animals before being sent to slaughter. Although the new provisions aim to avoid unnecessary suffering and adapt legislation to new technologies and scientific findings, many animals will continue to be killed under unacceptable conditions.

Member states have merely approved minor changes and have avoided addressing the most serious welfare problems that occur at slaughter such as the killing of animals which are still conscious under the guise of religious customs, and live shackling, a very controversial way of killing meat chickens which entails hanging the birds upside down, hereby subjecting them to excruciating pain, and electrocuting them by means of a water bath conductor before proceeding to kill them.
The new Regulation brings a few improvements such as the need for slaughterhouses to appoint an animal welfare officer and operators to be trained and hold a certificate of competence before being allowed to handle the animals.

Eurogroup for Animals also regrets that the new Regulation, which will not have to be applied until 2013, allows EU member states to individually introduce stricter rules for religious slaughter instead of introducing EU-wide rules that apply to all.
“Scientists are clear about the suffering that is a direct consequence of animals not being stunned or properly stunned. We can even count on the support of some religious communities who also would like to see an end to killing without stunning. We now call on EU member states to follow Sweden’s example and ban this practice at national level”, said Eurogroup’s Director, Sonja Van Tichelen.

23 June 2009

European Ministers of Agriculture yesterday agreed a new EU law which should improve the welfare of animals before being sent to slaughter. Although the new provisions aim to avoid unnecessary suffering and adapt legislation to new technologies and scientific findings, many animals will continue to be killed under unacceptable conditions.

Member states have merely approved minor changes and have avoided addressing the most serious welfare problems that occur at slaughter such as the killing of animals which are still conscious under the guise of religious customs, and live shackling, a very controversial way of killing meat chickens which entails hanging the birds upside down, hereby subjecting them to excruciating pain, and electrocuting them by means of a water bath conductor before proceeding to kill them.
The new Regulation brings a few improvements such as the need for slaughterhouses to appoint an animal welfare officer and operators to be trained and hold a certificate of competence before being allowed to handle the animals.

Eurogroup for Animals also regrets that the new Regulation, which will not have to be applied until 2013, allows EU member states to individually introduce stricter rules for religious slaughter instead of introducing EU-wide rules that apply to all.
“Scientists are clear about the suffering that is a direct consequence of animals not being stunned or properly stunned. We can even count on the support of some religious communities who also would like to see an end to killing without stunning. We now call on EU member states to follow Sweden’s example and ban this practice at national level”, said Eurogroup’s Director, Sonja Van Tichelen.

19 June 2009

Frank Dales, Managing Director of the Dutch animal welfare organisation Dierenbescherming, has been elected as the new President of Eurogroup for Animals. Mr Dales was elected by the representatives of Eurogroup for Animals’ 42 member organisations at our Annual General Meeting in Brussels on 18 June.

Mr Dales (52) has been head of the Dierenbescherming for two years. The Dierenbescherming is the Netherlands’ largest animal protection organisation and has been a member of Eurogroup since the latter’s creation in 1980. Just last week, the organisation was voted the most influential organisation in the Dutch food chain industry. Eurogroup member organisations unanimously voted to elect him Eurogroup president.

Speaking about his appointment as president, Mr Dales said that he is very happy to be appointed president and that he looks forward to the start of the new European Parliament to improve the plight of animals. “I aim to place animal transport and the revision of the EU’s animal experimentation Directive high on the agenda in the next coming months”, he said, “for these are good examples of issues that can only be solved on the EU stage. MEPs may expect to be approached from all corners by Eurogroup: by the Eurogroup staff for the provision of information and expertise and by Eurogroup’s national and international members who speak for millions of animal welfare supporters across the globe.”

Mr Dales succeeds Mike Baker, who successfully led the European network for three years, but stood down from his post as president following his recent appointment as the new Head of the World Society for the Protection of Animals, also a member organisation of Eurogroup for Animals.

15 June 2009

On Friday 12 June, the European Commission published a new proposal that will seek to further reduce animal testing. The proposal, which has been welcomed by Eurogroup, concerns the revision of the EU Biocides Directive (98/8/EC). A biocide is used for crop protection. It can be a substance or product which kills or deters harmful organisms through a chemical or biological process. Before a biocide may be placed on the market, regulations require its developers to engage in animal testing to prove it is safe to use. Friday’s proposal wants to make biocides safer for the environment, for humans and for animals. It also aims to ensure that there is no duplication in testing and that companies that request authorisation for testing are made to share the results of their testing. In addition testing will only be approved in cases of actual need.

10 June 2009

Food safety testing often makes use of unnecessary animal testing and EU legislators should work to better incorporate the latest scientific advancements for the replacement of animal tests. These are just two of the remarkable findings of the EU’s leading scientists, included in a new report on current EU legislation and EFSA safety testing methods published by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on 8 June.

Eurogroup for Animals is delighted with this new report as the putting into practice of its recommendations would save hundreds of thousands of animals from their use in experiments every year.The report provides an overview of current legislation which requires toxicity testing involving the use of animals It also highlight a substantial number of animal welfare problems that occur as a direct result of the tests, hereby noting the excessive scale of unnecessary testing.

Eurogroup welcomes the Food Safety Authority’s commitment to a proactive animal welfare approach and urges the EU to develop a strategy which new and revised EU legislation automatically incorporate references to the latest progress in the development of alternatives to animal testing.

This new report comes at an excellent time, as EU policy-makers are in the midst of revising legislation on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (Directive 86/609). The experts have seconded Eurogroup for Animals’ call for extended support for the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM), by calling on the Commission to offer its financial commitment for the development of alternatives and improve communication between EU agencies.

26 May 2009

With just two more weeks to go until the European Parliament elections, Europe’s animal welfare organisations are stepping up their campaigns to help voters to make the right choice for animals at the polling stations.

Building on the impetus of Eurogroup’s election campaign, which centres around our Five-Point Elections Manifesto, member organisations have been preparing for the big vote by organising meetings with candidate MEPs, debates between the public and candidates and also setting up websites that evaluate the track record of present MEPs. These events and information tools now allow EU citizens around the continent to see if their MEPs worked to protect animals over the past legislative period (2004-2009) or worked against our efforts.Question & Answer sessions with prospective MEPs also reveal their commitment to improving animal welfare should they be elected. Click here to learn more about our members' recent efforts.

Looking to the future, Eurogroup has managed to ensure that all but one EU political group has included animal welfare in their party manifestos. The only political group not to include animal welfare is the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party (ELDR). Eurogroup’s members have spoken to a large number of their candidates, so voters are invited to have a look at what their candidate MEPs have to say about animal welfare issues and, hopefully, take this into account when heading for the polling stations.

14 May 2009

Many EU zoos have yet to fully implement European rules on the keeping of wild animals in zoos and national authorities are still failing to enforce legislation on zoo keeping. These are the main conclusions of a new report by Eurogroup For Animals on the enforcement of the EU Zoo Directive.

Eurogroup For Animals has been continuously monitoring the enforcement of EU legislation on zoos across Europe, and this report – presented to the European Commission last month – serves as a reminder that EU countries need to do substantially more to ensure the safekeeping and care of animals kept in zoos.

The report highlights, among other issues, a general lack of information provided by authorities, the lack of resources allocated to licensing and inspections of zoos and a failure to establish clear guidelines for their scientific and educational activities.

The European Commission’s Environment Directorate currently only monitors the implementation of the legislation in an informal way, by processing the data and information provided by various stakeholders, such as Eurogroup.

Eurogroup For Animals now calls on the next EU Environment Commissioner to conduct a formal evaluation of the Zoo Directive implementation that includes stakeholder participation.

5 May 2009

The European Parliament has today voted on the proposal for the revision of the EU’s outdated 1986 Directive on the protection of animals for scientific purposes.

MEPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of better protection for lab animals, but have disappointed animal welfare supporters as MEPs also chose not to take this opportunity to take the revised Directive further and thereby guarantee the EU’s position as world leader in the use of alternatives to animal testing.

Positive outcomes to the vote include support that is to be given for the development of alternatives to animal experiments, and the promotion of alternatives in education and training. Eurogroup For Animals is, however, disappointed that MEPs did not allow for the inclusion of amendments that would have ensured the phasing out of the use of wild-caught primates. They also weakened the proposed rules for the authorisation of procedures that involve animal testing.

Sonja Van Tichelen, Director of Eurogroup For Animals, sees the decision as a step forward but a missed opportunity: “What we need is a U-turn in research to drastically reduce and finally replace the use of animals. For this, we need a different mindset and an overarching European strategy on animal testing with clear targets, replacing the most controversial tests such as those that make use of primates. This law, by itself, will not be sufficient but it will provide an adequate starting point.”