Vets Urge EU Commissioner To Keep Slaughter High On The Agenda
13 years ago
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6th July, 2011 17h32
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) welcomed the European Parliament’s decision to extend mandatory country of origin labelling to fresh meat from pigs, sheep, goats and poultry but reaffirmed its commitment to continue lobbying for consumers to have the right to know whether the meat they buy comes from animals that have been stunned prior to slaughter.
Compromise proposals on food information for consumers were adopted with an overwhelming majority in the European Parliament earlier today (Wednesday). In order to reach a consensus the amendment which sought to introduce compulsory labelling of meat and meat products from animals slaughtered without stunning had been withdrawn. It was agreed that information on the stunning of animals should now be considered in the context of future EU strategy for the protection and welfare of animals.
Commenting, Harvey Locke, BVA President, said:
“This political compromise will not detract us from continuing to lobby strongly for the issue of animals slaughtered without stunning to be included in future European animal welfare proposals from the Commission.”
Meat from animals slaughtered without stunning currently enters the mainstream food chain without being labelled, leaving consumers without their right to make an informed choice on animal welfare grounds.
Mr Locke continued:
“The BVA has long advocated that animals should be effectively stunned before slaughter. However, as long as slaughter without stunning is permitted the BVA has argued for any meat from this source to be clearly labelled to enable all consumers to make an informed choice when purchasing such products.
“Slaughter without pre-stunning unnecessarily compromises animal welfare; there is no debate about this within the scientific community. By ensuring that all meat from animals that are not stunned only enters the specific communities that it is targeted at, we can make a significant difference.
“We have a moral obligation to each animal we use and we must do all we can to ensure the highest level of welfare for our livestock. We would urge Commissioner Dalli to keep slaughter high on the agenda and quickly bring forward new animal welfare proposals that deal with this issue.”
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