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Food Safety

Legislative aspects of farm animal welfare

The enforcement of animal welfare legislation falls within the principle of subsidiarity, which means that:

EU countries are responsible for:

  • day to day enforcement through their national legislation and control activities

  • transposition of directives into national legislation and the implementation of EU rules at national level

Commission is responsible for:

  • providing appropriate information and where necessary training on EU legislative requirements

  • ensuring that EU legislation is properly implemented and enforced

  • in extreme cases taking action against EU countries that have failed to implement legal requirements

How this is achieved:

Areas of responsibility:

  • The legislation is designed to cover all stages of a farm animal's life whilst on the farm, during transport and at the time of killing.