EU-Vietnam collaboration holds the key to combatting the dire threats facing tigers. A shared initiative with FOUR PAWS, this policy briefing serves as a rallying call for urgent action to address the rampant tiger trade and improve the welfare of captive tigers.

According to the most recent Eurobarometer on animal welfare, 93% of European citizens want imported animal products to respect the same animal welfare standards as those applied in the European Union (EU). EU citizens do not want their consumption to fuel inhumane and unsustainable models of production beyond the EU’s borders. This report describes, for each key species, the impact that imposing animal welfare import requirements could have on source countries. To do so, it looks at the share that the EU market represents for top source countries - from an amount and a value perspective - and compares animal welfare standards with those applied in the EU. As exporters are often large multinational companies, it also identifies the commitments these companies have already adopted in the field of animal welfare, often beyond the legislative requirements where they are based.

In February 2022 the European Commission published its proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. This directive shall require from EU companies, as well as certain non-EU companies operating in the EU, to address human rights and environmental issues in their value chains through mandatory due diligence for human rights, environmental, and climate-change concerns.

This legislative proposal is an opportunity for the EU and its Member States to address animal welfare throughout international supply chains. By including animal welfare in the due diligence efforts imposed on companies, the EU and its Member States would better contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the legislation. Indeed, improving animal welfare throughout the value chain would benefit the right to health by reducing the risk of food-borne diseases and zoonoses and by allowing to lessen the use of antibiotics in livestock farming, one of the key triggers of the current surge in antimicrobial resistance. It would also provide leverage to fight human rights violations in the animal agriculture industry.

Applying EU animal welfare standards to imported animal products would consistently offer to EU consumers the type of products they ethically feel more comfortable with, and would ensure that European consumption does not fuel inhumane and unsustainable models of production beyond the EU’s borders. The revision of the EU’s animal welfare legislation is a unique opportunity for the EU to lead the global transition towards sustainable food systems. The animal welfare requirements that are mostly considered are the following: ban of cages, stocking density and space allowance, mutilations, enrichment, and male chick culling.

This document reviews the animal welfare standards in the top countries exporting animal products to the EU. It also reviews the standards in countries with which the EU is negotiating a trade agreement (FTA), as these are likely to export increased quantities of animal-based products to the EU in future, and including animal welfare based conditions in trade agreements is an exception.

Although the domestic and international trade in wild tigers for commercial purposes is prohibited in Vietnam, the trade remains highly active due to weak law enforcement and the demand for tiger parts in Vietnam and China. The prominence of illegal trafficking in Vietnam means EU-bred tigers exported to Vietnam are at high risk of being trafficked or killed for their parts. The export of these tigers also encourages the trade in captive-bred tigers (introduced in Vietnam to relieve pressure on the wild population) and, by encouraging the consumption of tiger parts, continues to threaten wild tiger populations. This note invites the EU Domestic Advisory Group (EU DAG) set up under the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA) to examine the tiger trade in Vietnam in light of Article 13.7.3 (d) and (e) of the Trade & Sustainable Development (TSD) chapter, which commits the parties to implement appropriate effective measures to reduce wildlife trafficking.

On 17 November 2021, the European Commission put forward a legislative proposal on deforestation-free products. The proposed regulation would introduce specific due diligence requirements for companies placing certain products on the EU market - such as palm oil, wood, cocoa, coffee, beef, leather, and soy - that contribute to the destruction of forests.

The proposal could be a game changer for farm animals and for wild animals as it would be a powerful incentive for producers intending to export to the EU to switch to sustainable production systems, avoiding intensive agricultural systems which are not only detrimental to farm animals but also fuels deforestation, thereby destroying wild animals’ habitats.

However, as it stands, the proposal ignores the role played by the livestock industry beyond beef - especially the poultry, pig, dairy and farmed fish production industries - in the destruction of ecosystems such as forests, savannahs and wetlands. The proposal falls short to meet the objective of stopping deforestation driven by the EU’s consumption of animal products.

Eurogroup for Animals welcomes the forthcoming EU initiative aiming at further embedding sustainability into corporate governance, which may lead to the adoption of legislation establishing an EU-wide due diligence mechanism. In that context, Eurogroup for Animals strongly believes that the concept of due diligence currently developed at the EU level should encompass animal welfare.

This briefing presents the evolution of the trade in animal products between both partners since the entry into force of the DCFTA, as well as the state of play in terms of animal welfare in Ukraine. It then explains why the EU should immediately address the impact the DCFTA has had on animal welfare, thus making the case for the EU to reject any additional market access for Ukrainian animal products until Ukraine implements EU-equivalent animal welfare standards.