The Commission announced on Friday that it has opened a public consultation on the revision of EU legislation for on-farm animal welfare.
The consultation remains open until 12 December 2025. It aims at exploring options to address shortcomings identified in a previous fitness check of EU’s animal welfare legislation. The aim is to revise the legislation insofar as on-farm welfare is concerned, including phasing out the use of cages.
Target groups are any group directly affected by the legislation, such as farmers and other food business operators, and the public, animal welfare NGOs and consumer organisations. Responses can be submitted in any official EU language. The Commission plans to present its first proposal to revise EU legislation towards the end of next year.
According to the Commission, the proposal will be evidence-based and a follow-up on the Commission's response to the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) on ending the use of cages for farmed animals. The ECI received the required number of signatures but the Commission reneged on its promise to submit a legislative proposal in 2023.
Another ECI in the pipeline concerns farming of animals for fur. The Commission will communicate by March 2026 if it considers appropriate to propose a ban, after a transition period.
The proposal will also address the issue of animal welfare standards relating to products imported into the EU. The Commission's work on the revision will be supported by other consultation activities, such as targeted surveys for the main stakeholders concerned, as well as scientific input provided by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
“Modernising some of our animal welfare rules is a clear expectation of our citizens,” commented Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare. “To address this request, while ensuring European farmers stay competitive, we seek the views of all interested parties on the rules for on-farm animal welfare.”
In her recent State of the Union speech, Commission President von der Leyen focused on the cost of living linked to food and farm income without mentioning the revision of EU’s outdated animal welfare legislation.
