The Lisbon Treaty and Animal Welfare

ABOUT THE ISSUE

The Treaty of Rome, signed in 1957, established the European Economic Community. The Treaty is the legal base which is periodically revised to take account of institutional and policy changes within the European Union. The Treaty of Rome did not include a reference to animal welfare. In 1992 a declaration on animal welfare was annexed to the revised Treaty of Maastricht. A further revision resulted in the Treaty of Amsterdam which, thanks to Eurogroup campaigning, included a protocol on animal welfare requiring EU policy-makers to pay "full regard" to animal welfare when adopting legislation in a number of policy areas. The Treaty of Amsterdam became effective on 1 May 1999. In 2009 the text of the protocol was incorporated in the text of the Lisbon Treaty, as Article 13, which includes additional policy areas.

Animal welfare in the Lisbon Treaty

The animal welfare protocol included in the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam introduced a significant change, as, for the first time in European law, animals were referred to as sentient beings - able to feel pain and suffering. The Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force on 1 December 2009, incorporated an article on animal welfare, which provides that:“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, since animals are sentient beings, pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals, while respecting the legislative or administrative provisions and customs of the Member States relating in particular to religious rites, cultural traditions and regional heritage”.