To keep a forefront position in animal welfare, the Commission is reviewing its acquis and initiatives completed over the past years.
On 20 May 2020, The Commission announced in the Farm to Fork Strategy that it will, by the end of 2023, revise the animal welfare legislation to align it with the latest scientific evidence.
In view of this revision, the Commission is preparing an impact assessment. Its objective is to assess the economic, social and environmental impact of the envisaged changes to the EU animal welfare legislation.
To identify which pieces of legislation need a revision and which gaps were present in the previous EU strategy on animal welfare, the Commission put in place several evaluation activities over the past years.
In 2020, the Commission launched a "Fitness Check" of the EU legislation on the welfare of farmed animals which helped reviewing the animal welfare legislative framework as well as other Commission initiatives in the area.
In 2019, the Commission started a series of activities to evaluate its previous strategy, the EU Strategy for Protection and Welfare of Animals (2012-2015).
This evaluation aimed to assess if the strategy completed in 2018 delivered its objectives and their current relevance and consistency. It also looked at its efficiency and whether the strategy usefully complements national efforts in animal welfare.