European Coalition for Farm Animals

March 2007 outside the European Commission

In order to address farm animal welfare issues across Europe, Compassion in World Farming works with European groups which share similar values and wish to see the same improvements in farm animal welfare. This grouping of like-minded animal welfare societies constitutes an informal network known as the European Coalition for Farm Animals (ECFA).

ECFA was first founded in 1993 in the light of an anticipated review of the EU battery cage legislation and brought together groups from 13 EU countries.

ECFA conducted three highly successful campaign tours, two on battery cages (in 1994 and 1998/99) and the other against veal crates in 1995. These, together with other activities have been instrumental in achieving some of the most significant EU legislative protection for farm animals, including:

• The ‘Amsterdam Treaty’ recognised the concept of animal sentience and enshrined it as a principle (1997). This means that in EU law, farm animals are recognised as sentient beings. This paved the way for welfare legislation
• The EU bans veal crates for calves (1997)
• An EU ban on battery cages from 2012 (agreed in 1999)
• The EU agrees to phase-out sow stalls, ban the tail docking of pigs and introduces the requirement for environmental enrichment for pigs (2001). The ban on tail docking and requirement for enrichment has been in force since 2003. The sow stall ban comes into force in 2013

As the EU has grown with the accession of new states, so new groups from Eastern Europe began to join ECFA. By 2006, ECFA comprised groups from 25 EU countries, plus one from Israel, Norway and Switzerland.

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Through co-ordinated activities and the resulting achievements described above, a Eurocentric approach to animal welfare issues has been established through a united front, proving that animal welfare societies can work effectively together across Europe to achieve positive change.

Compassion in World Farming, in close collaboration with GAIA Belgium, and LAV Italy leads this coalition of groups. If you would like to know more about the work of ECFA please contact the relevant Compassion ECFA coordinator:

• Southern Europe - France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Malta and Cyprus
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• Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia
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• Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia
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• Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary
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• Northern Europe - UK, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria
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