EU: Commission proposes new rules to improve animal welfare

The European Commission has proposed a package of reforms to EU animal welfare legislation on 7 December 2023. The package includes an overhaul of the current EU rules on animals in transport, which affect more than 1.5 billion animals transported to and from the EU each year. In addition, new rules on the welfare and traceability of dogs and cats will set common EU standards for the breeding, housing and handling of dogs and cats in breeding establishments and pet shops as well as animal shelters, as well as making the identification and registration in national databases compulsory. The Commission is also proposing further steps to address the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) “Fur Free Europe”, which calls to the EU to ban fur farming and placing on the market of farmed fur products.