Animal welfare receives more legislative attention in the European Union (EU) than in many other regions of the world. Animal welfare standards for farm production, transport of farm animals and slaughter are generally taken to be higher in the EU than in meat (and dairy) producing countries exporting to the EU, particularly developing countries. The recent action plan for animal welfare of the European Commission intends to expand further the body of regulatory standards.
The ambitions and effects of EU welfare standards were discussed at the conference Animal Welfare - A part of EU food chain policy, organised by the Austrian Presidency to the EU in Brussels on March 30, 2006. Commissioner Markos Kyprianou opened the event before a crowd of several hundred representatives from interest groups, the EU institutions, national governments, and several multinationals in food production and services.
LEI contributed a presentation on the economic perspective of upgrading animal welfare standards in the EU. The contribution touched upon a range of issues, including:
- What is the cost impact of animal welfare, how do costs relate to the price received?
- To what extent do high animal welfare standards hamper competitiveness of EU producers?
- What are the policy options to promote animal welfare, and how will these be received by EU consumers and producers and trade partners?
The presentation is downloadable: Animal welfare in the market. An economic perspective on animal welfare standards in the EU. Unfortunately, not all of the background material to the presentation is downloadable in English. For further information, please contact Thom Achterbosch.
More information about this subject:
Product differentiation under the WTO; An analysis of labelling and tariff or tax measures concerning farm animal welfare, Eaton, D.J.F., J. Bourgeois and T.J. Achterbosch, The Hague, 2005, LEI report 6.05.11.
Dossier WTO & Agricultural Policies