欧盟委员会：更好的动物健康可以促进更好的动物福利，反之亦然

在2023年于罗马举办的“世界农场动物福利－北京共识"研讨会上欧盟委员会食品安全与健康委员会动物福利部门负责人Andrea Gavinelli表示：更好的动物健康可以促进更好的动物福利，反之亦然，并介绍了近年欧盟委员会的相关工作进展。

欧盟委员会食品安全与健康委员会动物福利部门负责人Andrea Gavinelli在大会中表示表示：动物健康和福利之间有重要的联系和协同作用，更好的动物健康可以促进更好的动物福利，反之亦然。

他提到2016年通过了欧盟动物健康法（EU Animal Health Law），重新定义了50多项不同的立法，是动物福利立法过程中的重大改革，总结并提出了用健康检查的方式来评估欧盟动物福利，从而判断动物的养殖是否符合有关的法规和要求。

他表示此评估（健康检查）已在2022年完成，但是当前欧盟动物福利法需要更新，因为自从法律通过之后，很多方面得到了进一步发展，包括科学、道德问题、国际层面的变化、同一健康和同一福利之间的联系，以及实现可持续发展目标的必要性等。

他预期未来动物福利科学将全面发展，公民和消费者对动物生产道德方面的关注会持续提升, 比如终结笼养的欧洲公民倡议。并且全球肉类消费将增加，而欧盟则会减少。欧盟成员国会持续制定动物福利倡议，除非在欧盟层面采取行动。

关于近年来欧盟在动物福利方面的发展，Andrea Gavinelli提到欧盟的农场到餐桌战略Farm to Fork Strategy (2020)，指出“更好的动物福利能提升动物健康和食物品质，减少对药物的需求，有助于保护生物多样性”。从2011-2020年，欧盟范围内兽用抗菌药物的销量减少了43%。共同农业政策（the Common Agriculture Policy）增加了动物福利的支持工具，以达到比立法更高的标准。

他建议应用真正全面的方法，认真考虑以下问题：如何应对未来可持续方面的挑战，如气候变化、韧性以及抗菌耐药细菌的传播等；对食品安全的影响（以及食物可获得性）；对动物和公众健康的影响等。

他表示欧盟还需要做好平衡，将成本合理地从农民转移到消费者身上，让投资更好的产生回报。不能仅仅依靠共同农业政策来支持农业发展与变革。欧盟的农民数量明显减少，人口在老龄化，因此，当我们推动农业可持续性时，要采取全面的方法，重点考虑影响发展的关键因素。

以下为英文简报：

Andrea Gavinelli, Head of Unit Animal Welfare, DG Sante, European Commission stated in his report, “Animal health and welfare are linked: better animal health promotes better animal welfare, and vice versa”.

He mentioned that EU Animal Health Law was adopted in 2016 which redefined more than 50 provisions. It is a milestone in animal welfare legislation. Fitness check was put forward to assess animal welfare in European Union, in order to know whether the procedures meet the regulations.

Mr. Gavinelli expressed that Evaluation (Fitness Check) concluded in 2022, but current EU animal welfare legislation needs an update, because several new elements have developed since their adoption, such as science, ethical concerns, developments at international level, and interface between One Health and One Welfare and the need to respond to SDG goals.

He shared the following expectations on the trends ahead. First, animal science will continue to develop with an holistic approach. Second, citizens’ and consumers’ concerns for ethical aspects of animal production will continue to grow. For example the European Citizen Initiatives- End the Cage Age. Third, meat consumption will increase globally (especially for the poultry sector) while decreasing in the EU. Fourth, EU Member States will continue to develop animal welfare initiatives-unless action is taken at EU level.

In terms of recent development in the EU, Andrea Gavinelli mentioned the EU Farm to Fork Strategy (2020). It is stated that “better animal welfare improves animal health and food quality, reduces the need for medication and can help preserve biodiversity.”  From 2011 to 2020, the sales of antimicrobial veterinary medicines in the EU were reduced by 43%. The Common Agriculture Policy has increased its support tools for animal welfare to achieve higher standards than the ones in legislation.

Mr. Gavinelli shared that a truly holistic perspective is being applied, carefully considering the below points: future sustainability challenges such as climate change, resilience and the spread of antimicrobial resistant bacteria; the effects on food security (and food affordability); the effects on animal and public health, etc.

He indicated that we need to better transfer the costs from the farmers to the consumers and to better make the investment pay back. It cannot only rely on the Common Agriculture Policy to support agriculture development and transformation. There is a clear reduction of the number of farmers in the EU and a aging situation. Therefore, when promoting the sustainable development, it is important to take a holistic approach, focusing on the key factors affecting development.