On 7th July 2017, at the conference ‘The CAP: Have Your Say’ in Brussels, members of civil society, industry and decision-makers gathered to discuss the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). FOUR PAWS and Eurogroup for Animals represented the voice of animal welfare advocates, underlining the need to ensure that animal welfare was included in the discussions.

Phil Hogan, EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, presented the results of the public consultation based on over 322,000 contributions from all EU Member States. The views of EU citizens and stakeholders were gathered to identify the challenges and the priorities for the future CAP at the EU level. According to the results, animal welfare constitutes a major challenge. Although Commissioner Hogan expressed the need for “fresh money for fresh initiatives”, animal welfare was not mentioned throughout the conference.

FOUR PAWS insists on the urgent necessity and importance of maintaining good husbandry. Animal welfare practices need to benefit both animals and farmers. In this respect, the EU Commission needs to recognise this and include improved animal welfare standards in the CAP, as this concern has clearly been displayed through the results of the public consultation.