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EU constitution incorporates animal welfare provisions
The new constitution for the European Union includes an Annex on the welfare of animals
The long-awaited EU constitution, agreed by the Council of Ministers in June, calls on the EU and its members to take account of the welfare requirements of animals when making policy. Annex 49 of the constitution says: “In formulating and implementing the Union’s agriculture, fisheries, transport, internal market, research and technological development and space policies, the Union and the Member States shall pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals, as sentient beings, while respecting the legislative or administrative provisions and customs of Member States relating in particular to religious rites, cultural traditions and regional heritage.”
The constitution still needs to be translated into all the official languages of the EU, signed by the Heads of State and ratified in all the Member States via Parliamentary approval or referendum before it comes into force.
Although it is the first time that animal welfare has been specifically mentioned in the constitution, very similar wording is already included in the Treaty of Rome. The difference is the addition of the phrase ‘as sentient beings’, although whether this will have any bearing on the way in which the constitution is interpreted in practice seems unlikely.