(testimonial from the dossier “Animal welfare: science to inform public policy” -2021)
“The Ministry of Agriculture and Food is convinced that improving animal welfare is a key factor for the future of the European livestock industry, in line with society’s strong and growing expectations on this subject. Legislation on animal welfare needs to be updated in light of new scientific knowledge, particularly on pain mechanisms. The creation in 2017 of a National Reference Centre for Animal Welfare (CNR BEA), as provided for in the Law on the Future of Agriculture, was the first action to be taken under the 2016-2020 national strategy for animal welfare. The CNR BEA is supported by INRAE, and the framework agreement was signed on 28/02/2017 for 5 years (2017-2021), by INRAE, 4 agricultural technical institutes (Idele, IFIP, IFCE and ITAVI) represented by ACTA, the 4 ENV (VetAgroSup, ENVA, Oniris, ENVT) and Anses. The DGAL has provided financial support since its creation. At the end of its first term of office, the DGAL would like to congratulate the CNR BEA on its expert work and invites it to continue disseminating knowledge to stakeholders. It affirms the need for the CNR BEA to continue. It considers that the CNR BEA model should be promoted at European level, at a time when the European Union is in the process of revising its animal welfare regulations. Lastly, the DGAL expects CNR BEA to play a major role in developing the new national animal welfare strategy currently being drawn up.”
Testimonial from our thematic dossier
Thematic dossier
Animal welfare: science to inform public policy
Although animal welfare is now a pressing concern in our society, the issue first came to the fore in the 1960s as a reaction to the intensive farming conditions developed to optimise practices and increase economic profitability at the expense of animals. It was in the 1980s, under the impetus of a few pioneering researchers, that the issue of animal welfare began to be taken into account at INRAE.
This dossier retraces the major stages in the Institute’s investment in this area, through Research
and in support of related public policies.
