France approves an action plan in favour of animal welfare

The Ministry of Agriculture of France has approved an animal welfare improvement plan. The plan includes 20 critical actions focused on investigation and innovation, the responsibility of all the professionals, and especially on the abattoirs and the exchange of information with the citizens and the industry partners.

Among the different items we must highlight:

• Knowledge and innovation:
  • Creation, in 2016, of a national reference centre for animal welfare (CNR BEA) that provides scientific support to all the parties, especially the farmers, and that contributes to the spreading of the technical and investigation innovations.
  • Promote and back the innovation with the aim of following the evolution of the practices in favour of animal welfare.
     
• Make the professionals be the first players regarding welfare:
  • Promote the good practices handbooks and their implementation.
  • Establish, within the CNR BEA framework, a platform dedicated to training.
  • Lean on the experience of veterinarians in particular and strengthen their role in the core of the BEA mechanism.
     
• Promote the the evolution of practices in favour of animal welfare:
  • Back the modernisation of the farms.
  • Offer tools to the farmers to prevent animals from suffering pain.
  • Offer alternatives to painful practices, such as castration.
     
• Increase the requirements in terms of animal protection at the abattoir:
  • Reinforce the State control: reinforce the role of the veterinary services, increase the fines.
  • Appoint, for all the abattoirs, a person in charge of controlling the slaughtering systems.
  • Promote the modernisation of the structures and the stunning equipment.