Animal Rights

25 animals, including dogs and primates, were rescued from a research facility in Verona where serious mistreatment of animals was discovered. The facility, which carries out animal testing on behalf of international pharmaceutical companies, is being charged with the neglect and unlawful killing of animals including beagles, marmosets and macaques.

Our Farm Animals Programme Officer, Susanna Blattner, was recently invited by our member Essere Animali to follow trucks transporting lambs across Italy. The purpose of the investigation was to monitor any legal violations to the animals, intervening where possible, and to record firsthand the experiences of these lambs to show where the current Transport Regulation is falling dramatically short of protecting their welfare. This is her account of her experience.

Stroll down the aisles of a British supermarket and you will see the Red Tractor logo on everything from milk bottles to carrots. The label assures customers that food and drink products have been produced in the UK to Red Tractor’s standards. According to Red Tractor, this means that food has been “responsibly sourced, safely produced and comes from crops and animals that have been well cared for.”

As of January 2024, California is now cage-free. This rule applies to all products, including imports, a precedent that should pave the way for the EU. The ban on cages, known as Proposition 12, was put to a vote and approved by more than 62% of voters in 2018. The legislation bans extreme confinement of laying hens and calves raised for veal from 2022, but pig producers (the biggest sector impacted by the legislation) were given a transition period until the end of December 2023.  As of January 2024, the legislation applies to all sectors.

On 4 January 2024, the European Commission launched a public consultation to update Annexes III and IV of Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. Eurogroup for Animals welcomes the efforts to include standards for the care and accommodation of animals and acceptable methods of killing for species previously overlooked. However, we regret that the revision missed the opportunity to update existing provisions for other species.

Behind the glamour and allure of the fashion industry lies a sobering reality – its devastating impact on the environment and the countless species that call our planet home. From the overgrazing of the Mongolian steppes to the contamination of our oceans, the production of many common clothing materials is exacting a heavy toll on wildlife and ecosystems across the globe.

During the Agriculture and Fisheries Council (AGRIFISH), Austria’s Agriculture Minister presented an information note on the “CAP’s role on safeguarding high-quality and primary farm-based food production”, which contains incorrect claims about the sustainability potential of cultivated meat, and asked the European Commission to prevent cultivated meat products from being called meat. 

The European Ombudsman has opened an inquiry into the European Commission’s (EC) failure to publish a legislative proposal to phase-out and ultimately ban cages for farm animals, in line with its official answer to the End the Cage Age European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI).

Korea put an end to the contentious tradition of consuming dogs as the National Assembly passed a special bill, marking a rare moment of political unity to ban the trade and consumption of dog meat.

In a move that has sparked outrage among animal welfare advocates, the European Commission's (EC) long-awaited proposal on animal transport falls disappointingly short of addressing the immense suffering endured by billions of animals during transportation each year. Despite the growing evidence and public outcry for better protection, the proposal embraces a "business as usual" approach, prioritizing economic interests over the well-being of these vulnerable creatures.