Source: European Parliament
1. The recent Fitness Check of the EU Animal Welfare legislation[1] concluded that there is a lack of uniform enforcement regarding the ban on the routine tail docking of pigs.
2. The Commission has no power to impose fines or other economic sanctions on a Member State to enforce the implementation of the directive. Financial sanctions may be ordered by the Court following a request by the Commission in the context of an infringement procedure concerning a failure by a Member State to comply with a judgment of the Court.
3. In line with the Commission enforcement strategy, infringement proceedings are launched as a means of last resort, whereas the Commission continuously seeks to achieve faster and efficient compliance from the Member States by exploring all appropriate tools to achieve legal compliance.
For this reason, the Commission continues efforts to work closely with the Member States through a variety of instruments and fora to ensure the proper implementation of EU animal welfare legislation.
In that context, the Commission recently has set up an animal welfare expert and an animal welfare working group[2] to pursue discussions with all Member States. One of the main topics of discussion is the enforcement of the ban on routine tail docking of pigs.
- [1] Commission Staff Working Document Fitness Check of the EU Animal Welfare legislation: https://food.ec.europa.eu/document/download/b9cc1000-c978-4895-8e9b-c2e1296adbfe_en?filename=aw_eval_revision_swd_2022-328_en.pdf
- [2] Animal Welfare Expert Group https://food.ec.europa.eu/animals/animal-welfare/animal-welfare-expert-group_en#:~:text=In%202024,%20the%20European%20Commission%20established%20the%20Animal