Mar 20, 2021 03:07 AM
(This post was last modified: Mar 20, 2021 03:08 AM by C C.)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/emanuelabar...in-europe/
INTRO: On March 17, the EU Court of Justice banned a traditional French bird-hunting practice “likely to cause other than negligible damage to non-target species caught”. The week before, two ships transporting 2,600 cows docked after three months stranded in the Mediterranean. And, linked to the risk of spreading Covid, mink breeding was stopped in Denmark.
These stories show many things about us. One in particular is how far a utilitarian approach to other species can go and that the law is, like in all sectors, a work in progress - only partially an expression of our ethics. So what is the state of animals' rights in the EU? I asked Reineke Hameleers, CEO of the Eurogroup for Animals.
“Despite the citizens’ opinions that animals should be much better protected, the EU and its Member states are still failing to address the massive animal welfare challenges we are facing,” she told me. “Billions of animals are suffering on farms, in laboratories, being traded as exotic or companion animals.”
The article 13 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union recognizes animals as sentient beings. But this principle has not been implemented in actual legislation “and animals are treated as commodities, products and objects”, says Hameleers.
Now “hope is on the horizon” as the Commission committed to start revising the animal welfare legislation. That’s why the Eurogroup for Animals launched the No animal left behind campaign this year.
Together with 70 members across Europe, they are calling on the EU to protect every animal from neglect and cruelty, while promoting a happy life through various actions. For instance, bans on all long distance journeys of farmed animals.
There are many challenges ahead. The case of two ships from Spain struggling to find a buyer for the cattle, over fears of the animals being sick, provides a perfect example... (MORE - details)
INTRO: On March 17, the EU Court of Justice banned a traditional French bird-hunting practice “likely to cause other than negligible damage to non-target species caught”. The week before, two ships transporting 2,600 cows docked after three months stranded in the Mediterranean. And, linked to the risk of spreading Covid, mink breeding was stopped in Denmark.
These stories show many things about us. One in particular is how far a utilitarian approach to other species can go and that the law is, like in all sectors, a work in progress - only partially an expression of our ethics. So what is the state of animals' rights in the EU? I asked Reineke Hameleers, CEO of the Eurogroup for Animals.
“Despite the citizens’ opinions that animals should be much better protected, the EU and its Member states are still failing to address the massive animal welfare challenges we are facing,” she told me. “Billions of animals are suffering on farms, in laboratories, being traded as exotic or companion animals.”
The article 13 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union recognizes animals as sentient beings. But this principle has not been implemented in actual legislation “and animals are treated as commodities, products and objects”, says Hameleers.
Now “hope is on the horizon” as the Commission committed to start revising the animal welfare legislation. That’s why the Eurogroup for Animals launched the No animal left behind campaign this year.
Together with 70 members across Europe, they are calling on the EU to protect every animal from neglect and cruelty, while promoting a happy life through various actions. For instance, bans on all long distance journeys of farmed animals.
There are many challenges ahead. The case of two ships from Spain struggling to find a buyer for the cattle, over fears of the animals being sick, provides a perfect example... (MORE - details)