Animal Welfare Commissioner for European Commission
FOUR PAWS congratulates EC on landmark decision
Vienna, 17 September 2024 – Today, the 27 candidates for the European Commission in the second term of office of the re-elected Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were presented.
We look forward with great confidence to a decisive five years for animal welfare, environmental protection and food safety.
We congratulate the landmark decision to have a designated Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi, as we have advocated for this direction in the past. We trust - subject to the European Parliament's approval - that his work will go hand in hand with that of Christophe Hansen, Commissioner-designate for Agriculture and Food, who is tasked with bringing the recommendations of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture to life and developing a vision for agriculture and food in the first 100 days of the mandate. This is a pivotal point for the health and welfare of billions of animals, humans and the environment alike.
We expect the College to work constructively to translate the EU population’s demands for improvements in animal welfare legislation into long-term and sustainable legislative proposals. The measures planned to date in agricultural animal husbandry are just not sufficient to meet the needs of animals and to reach climate and environmental goals.
Statement by Joe Moran, FOUR PAWS Director in Belgium
Background
Two weeks ago Ursula von der Leyen presented the final report of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture. It signals a positive step towards a more sustainable future of agriculture, food safety and animal welfare in the EU.
Michael Kellner
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FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organisation for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. The sustainable campaigns and projects of FOUR PAWS focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.four-paws.org