Our policies for the 2014 EU Parliament Elections included:
- Re-directing EU subsidies (currently averaging 50 billion euros per year) away from livestock and fisheries farming and into plant-based agriculture
- Promoting healthy, plant-based lifestyle initiatives through public health and education campaigns
- Opposing the production and import of genetically manipulated crops anywhere in Europe
- Labelling all products clearly with information which allows consumers to make informed choices in line with their own principles on the environment, health, animal welfare and the social circumstances in which a product is produced
- Phasing out farming practices and systems with poor welfare consequences for animals
- Ending live animal export
- Reducing journey times for animals travelling to slaughter and further ‘fattening’
- Phasing out animal experimentation with binding targets for reduction combined with funding and real support for alternatives
- Ending cultural traditions that involve cruelty to animals, such as bull fighting and foie gras production
- A ban on the production and sale of fur within Europe
- Ending EU subsidy of rearing bulls for bullfighting (currently estimated to be 129.6 million euros per year)
- Halting EU funding of Romania’s ‘Rabies Eradication Programme’ until the stray animal ‘Catch and Kill’ policy is replaced by ‘Spay and Neuter’
- Ensuring proper enforcement of existing animal welfare legislation across all EU member states
Before writing our 2014 EU Parliament Manifesto, we contacted over 100 animal and environmental protection organisations and invited them to contribute policy suggestions.
Our full 2014 EU Parliament Election Manifesto is available here.
If you represent an organisation and would like to make policy suggestions for future manifestos, please contact us at: policyunit@animalwelfareparty.org
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Hudson.
