Throughout the Easter holiday season, images of bunny rabbits joyfully hopping around as well as baby chicks on green grass could be seen everywhere. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Hundreds of millions of rabbits and hens across Europe lead miserable lives confined in cages. That is why, ahead of Easter, MEPs from […]

This morning, the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals discussed the continued use of animals for testing the safety of cosmetic ingredients in the EU. The EU Cosmetics Regulation, adopted in 2013, established an important precedent worldwide by banning animal testing for cosmetic products and for their ingredients. Last year, the Resolution adopted […]

This morning, the Intergroup on the Welfare and the Conservation of Animals gathered to discuss the protection of whistleblowers, the people who “report (within the organisation concerned or to an outside authority) or disclose (to the public) information on a wrongdoing obtained in a work-related context”. Whistleblowers are necessary to ensure the exposure of illegal […]

Yesterday, the Intergroup for the Welfare and the Conservation of Animals gathered to look back at the results achieved by the Intergroup and to discuss the upcoming elections. A certificate was awarded to the MEPs who proactively promoted the animal welfare cause during this term and contributed to the achievements of the Intergroup. The meeting […]

This morning, the Intergroup on the Welfare and the Conservation of Animals gathered to discuss the Directive on the keeping of wild animals in zoos (Zoos directive). The meeting, chaired by Anja Hazekamp (NL, GUE/NGL), focused on the implementation and the evaluation of the EU legislation and offered suggestions on how it could be improved in the future. Ute […]

On Thursday 13th December, the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals held a debate with Janusz Wojciechowski, Member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA), and Vytenis Andriukaitis, EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety.  Janusz Wojciechowski presented the recent European Court of Auditors’ special report on animal welfare in the EU: closing the gap […]

On 19th November Jørn Dohrmann MEP (ECR, DK), rapporteur in the Agriculture Committee on the Implementation report on the protection of animals during transport, hosted a hearing at the European Parliament. Experts from different fields were invited to present their experience, with the aim to collect information and data to substantiate the parliamentary report. The […]

New docu-film prompts MEPs to reflect on treatment of stray animals At the Brussels premiere of ‘A Dog’s Life – The Homeless Dogs of Romania’ in the European Parliament, viewers were exposed to the shocking conditions that thousands of dogs have to endure behind the closed doors of shelters in Romania. The film questions why […]

On the morning of 15 November, the EU Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals gathered at the European Parliament in Strasbourg to consider the welfare of equines (horses, donkeys and hybrids), with attendance from 14 MEPs and other organisations. The Intergroup session was chaired by Jacqueline Foster MEP (ECR, UK) and featured speakers from World Horse […]

This morning, the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals met to discuss the environmental and public health impact of industrial broiler production and to explore alternative production systems. Over 7 billion of broilers are raised each year in the European Union. Industrial broiler chicken production is predominant and accounts for 93.5 % of […]