The European Animal Welfare Platform meets in Brussels

Miguel Ángel Higuera, director of Anprogapor, summarizes the highlights of the meeting organized by DG Sante that took place on June 16 and 17.

On June 16 and 17, the 15th meeting of the European Animal Welfare Platform took place in Brussels, organized by DG Sante and of which the director of Anprogapor, Miguel Ángel Higuera, is one of the selected experts.

During the 2 days of meeting, an update was made on the different proposals to improve animal welfare, both in livestock and in companion animals. Among the topics discussed, the following stand out:

Summary of the Belgian presidency

Belgium summarized the work at the presidency level, which has focused mainly on the animal welfare dossier for dogs and cats. The transport welfare dossier was presented by the commission’s services and a review of the document has begun without notable progress towards the issues of greatest concern to livestock farmers.

The next presidency will be the Hungarian one, which has expressed a spirit of continuity with the work of the current presidency with the objective of finalizing the dogs and cats dossier and continuing with the reading and analysis of transportation.

EFSA mandates

The EFSA carried out an update of the commission’s mandates, focusing on the latter on welfare in fattening cattle and animal welfare in minor species. It is important to note that the opinion-taking procedure has changed and more information will be provided by external experts through consultation of call for evidence and later with meetings. This means that EFSA reports can contemplate all the existing progress, both practical on the farm and published.

Reference centers in animal welfare

There are 4 reference centers in the EU: pigs, poultry and small animals, ruminants and horses and finally fish. The reference centers aim to help the competent authorities when interpreting the regulations by providing them with the necessary supporting scientific knowledge. Both visiting the corresponding web pages and being subscribed to their newsletters They are useful tools to stay updated.

Other wellness topics

At the level of the WHOA (World Organization for Animal Health), not only the terrestrial codes on animal welfare are being developed, but progress is also being made in particular important topics such as animal welfare in the event of disasters or in case of mass slaughter of animals for health reasons.

BTSF Training Program

The BTSF training program was presented by the European Commission (better training for food safety) that is used for the training of auditors/inspectors (SSVVOO), although its objective will be to open it so that the information and knowledge regarding harmonization of compliance with European regulations reaches all links.

New working subgroup

DG Santé has presented the new subgroup called Policy Indicators, which has selected 10 EU experts to advise the Commission in this regard: 3 experts from Member States, 4 professional experts, 2 NGOs and 1 independent expert. Among the 4 professional experts, Miguel Ángel Higuera, director of Anprogapor, has been selected as one of them.

The future of the Animal Welfare Platform

The platform ends its mandate this year and a report is being prepared on its use and contributions to be able to assess with the new Commission whether it is necessary to have a meeting point for animal welfare debate in Europo or not.

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