In next year’s work program of the European Commission there will be no trace of the revision of the rules on animal welfare, despite the commitment, reiterated on several occasions by the Commissioner for Animal Health and Welfare Olivér Várhelyi, to present the long-awaited package of legislative proposals on the subject by 2026.
Among other things, it also arrived thanks to the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) End the Cage Age which – with the support of a coalition of 170 associations coordinated by Compassion in World Farming.
In response, the European Commission had publicly committed to presenting, by the end of 2023, a legislative proposal to eliminate the use of cages in animal husbandry.
What happened
In 2023 itself, the European executive failed to fulfill its promise. In response, the Committee of Citizens Promoters of the ECI lodged an appeal against the European Commission at the Court of Justice of the European Union in 2024, requesting the publication of new deadlines for submitting proposals.
The only animal welfare measure announced in the 2026 work program is of a non-legislative nature on “animal husbandry, including elements relating to animal welfare”.
The European Commission has repeatedly insisted that it would present the proposal to eliminate cages towards the end of 2026, following the line indicated by the European Vision for Agriculture and Food. So why didn’t you include this legislation in next year’s work programme? This is a worrying message for the millions of European citizens who want and expect the legislation to be presented as promised, comment the associations of the Italian End the Cage Age coalition.
The absence of the reform in the Work Program makes the outcome of the End the Cage Age action against the European Commission even more crucial. The reason?
Well, in the European Union, every year around 300 million animals raised for food spend most or all of their lives in individual cages or enclosures. Chickens and rabbits, for example, are confined in spaces the size of an A4 sheet of paper. Sows are forced to breastfeed their young in cages so narrow that they can’t even turn around. Ducks and geese are kept in cages where they are force-fed to produce foie gras.
Isn’t this enough for us? Now is the time for Europe to keep its promises.
