“This is fantastic. After extensive work with the European Commission on the Coordinated Control Plan on Illegal Movement of Pets which shows just how extensive, rife, and cruel the illegal pet trade business is, we fully welcome this proposal as a result. FOUR PAWS’ presence in Brussels was first established in 2007 to achieve exactly this. This is the realisation of a mission for us. 

“So far, legislative loopholes have allowed for the illegal pet trade to thrive. We hope the new rules will close them and facilitate the work of enforcement authorities. 

“We are now looking to work with Member States and Members of European Parliament during legislative deliberations to widen the scope of this regulation so that it’s not just cats and dogs that are protected from the illegal pet trade, but also exotic pets.” 

"While it's great to see a proposal on live transport, it is not necessarily so great to see this proposal. It simply lacks the bold ambition needed to address the significant pitfalls in current live animal transport practices. Most notably, the proposal falls short by not including a ban on live export to third countries, a practice that subjects animals to excruciatingly torturous journeys, ultimately culminating in a cruel and painful slaughter upon arrival. 

“This proposal was supposed to break the broken cycle of previous ‘reforms’ and overhaul current practices. Instead, we have a proposal that seeks to do the same thing that the current law does, and the law before that, and the one before that. What was it that Einstein said about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? 

“We now count on allies in the European Parliament and Council to help to radically amend this proposal so that we end up with an act that does what it actually claims to do – protect animals during live transport.” 

“The Commission has now made it clear that it is open to an EU wide ban on the keeping and killing of animals for fur, pending an EFSA opinion. We welcome this step forward and are confident that an independent scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will conclude that the current housing systems in fur farms are incompatible with animal welfare. In addition, we want to highlight the importance of prohibiting the placement of farmed fur on the EU market. If the EU is to ban fur production, it must not accept fur from anywhere else either. 

Countless scientific studies have already shown that the welfare of animals farmed for fur is severely compromised under all circumstances. High welfare standards in fur farms simply do not exist. In the new year we will continue to monitor this process and work to ensure the Commission acts in accordance with the demands of millions of citizens.“