Answer given by Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission
19.6.2020
The welfare of pigs is for many years one of the animal welfare priorities for the Commission.
The Commission adopted a recommendation[1] to reduce the need for tail docking accompanied by a Commission staff working document[2]. The Commission also produced educational materials to illustrate how to prevent tail docking[3].
The Commission services conducted meetings, audits[4], requested action plans from all Member States and carried out administrative follow-up. Furthermore, the Commission formed a ‘task force’ providing support to national authorities to assess the situation in pig farms and improving communication with the concerned actors.
In 2019, the Commission started an evaluation of the EU Strategy for the Protection and Welfare of Animals 2012-2015[5]. The evaluation is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. In parallel, in the context of the European Green Deal[6], the Commission presented a Farm to Fork Strategy[7], which includes animal welfare actions.
Both the evaluation of the EU animal welfare strategy and the Farm to Fork Strategy will contribute to design future activities deemed necessary in the field of animal welfare, including on the welfare of pigs.
- [1] Commission Recommendation (EU) 2016/336 of 8 March 2016 on the application of Council Directive 2008/120/EC laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs as regards measures to reduce the need for tail-docking, C/2016/1345, OJ L 62, 9.3.2016, p. 20.
- [2] Commission Staff Working Document on best practices with a view to the prevention of routine tail-docking and the provision of enrichment materials to pigs SWD(2016) 49 final.
- [3] https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/welfare/practice/farm/pigs/tail-docking_en
- [4] Ref. 2017-6125 (Netherlands), 2017-6126 (Spain), 2017-6123 (Denmark), 2017-6257 (Italy), 2018-6445 (Germany), 2019-6604 (Hungary), 2019-6749 (Austria), 2019-6750 (Portugal), 2019-6603 (France).
- [5] COM/2012/6 final
- [6] COM/2019/640 final
- [7] COM(2020) 381 final.