The European Parliament today sent a strong signal to the European Commission to come forward with a holistic EU strategy on animal welfare by adopting the ALDE MEP Marit Paulsen's (Sweden, Liberal People's Party) recommendations with a large majority.

Ms Paulsen's report calls for a science-based general animal welfare legislation that would serve as a framework to cover all animals and all species kept by humans (zoo and farm animals as well as pets), clarify definitions and responsibilities and allow for the sharing of knowledge and best practices across borders.

Commenting after the vote, Ms Paulsen said:

"I am very pleased that we were able to reach a broad consensus with all stakeholders from animal welfare protection organisations to farmers on the approach towards protecting the welfare of animals across Europe."

George Lyon MEP (UK, Liberal Democrat), ALDE team leader in the Agriculture Committee, added:

"As with the battery hens, there are serious concerns now that the EU-wide ban on sow stalls that will come into force next January will not be fully implemented by all Member States in time, damaging the competitiveness of those producers who already comply with the improved animal welfare rules. This is precisely why we need not only legal milestones for the Commission to be able to intervene at an earlier stage but also a commitment by retailers to stock only products that fully comply with EU animal welfare standards."

Ends"In particular, I was pushing for legal milestones to be introduced as a tool to give the Commission some kind of leverage and opportunity to control and supervise Member States during the transitional periods of introducing new animal welfare standards."