Ms Lambert has joined forces with MEPs from across Europe to write to Tonio Borg, the EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, demanding action be taken to enforce the Pigs Directive.

Ms Lambert said: “There is clear evidence that many EU pig farmers are infringing important provisions of the Pigs Directive and this is completely unacceptable.

“I welcome the fact that the Commission is producing guidance on this issue, but it seems some are using this as an excuse for inaction.

“The legislation was finalised years ago now, and has been fully in force for over a year, and we now need to EU and all Member States to take effective steps to ensure proper enforcement.”

Her intervention comes after undercover investigators from Compassion in World Farming found pigs in more than 100 farms in ten EU countries being kept in filthy conditions, denied opportunities to engage in natural behaviours – and subject to routine tail docking – all in breach of the Pigs Directive.

Some 400,000 EU citizens have, in a separate initiative, signed a petition calling on the EU Commission to enforce animal welfare legislation on pig farms, particularly the clause prohibiting the keeping of pregnant sows in ‘sow stalls’.

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Ms Lambert has written to the European Commission calling for a complete ban until specific legislation is in place covering all the ethical, health and animal welfare issues.

Currently, no GM animal products are being sold in the EU, but several GM animal products have been developed, and food campaigners are concerned that there is no specific EU legislation governing their future sale – ultimately there is nothing to prevent them ending up on our dinner plates.

Food scientists have developed GM animals to increase yield – as in the case of GM salmon, to be resistant to diseases associated with factory farming – such as bird ‘flu resistant chickens, and to develop new market characteristics – such as GM cattle modified to produce ‘human’ milk suitable for lactose-intolerant consumers.

Ms Lambert said: “There is currently no legislation specifically governing the sale of GM animal products for human consumption in the EU.

“There must be – in order to address concerns over human health, wildlife and the environment, animal welfare, and ethical considerations, and this legislation must be the subject of a conversation with consumers to decide if GM animals are something they actually want to eat.

“Until such legislation is in place there must be a complete ban.”

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Footage showing “systematic brutality” in British abattoirs shows the current system is not protecting animals – and more stringent monitoring is needed, argues Green MEP, Jean Lambert.

Pigs callously burnt with cigarettes. Cows and sheep routinely kicked and punched. Bleeding and seriously injured animals forced to drag themselves to slaughter. Such images are difficult enough to imagine, let alone witness. Yet these are very real scenes of grotesque cruelty and viciousness caught on covert camera by leading animal rights organisation, Animal Aid.

Since January 2009, hidden surveillance in nine randomly chosen abattoirs across Britain has uncovered systematic brutality in the slaughterhouse industry. The scenes described above were taken from just one abattoir. Footage taken from the other eight premises, including two so-called ‘high welfare’ plants accredited by the Soil Association, tell a similar, devastating story and reveal serious breaches of animal welfare laws.

For almost 20 years, European Union member states have been governed by legislation which stipulates that animals must be killed in a way that precludes unnecessary suffering, and spared from all avoidable pain both inside and outside the slaughterhouse. Yet, the Animal Aid recordings prove beyond any doubt that a number of British abattoirs are falling far short of the legally required standards of animal welfare – and it would be wrong to assume that this is just a British problem. A similar investigation into French abattoirs in 2009 revealed serious deficiencies in slaughter practice, resulting in prolonged suffering, and the European Commission’s food and veterinary office has documented numerous incidents of horrific abuse across a number of EU countries.

It is fair to say that the current system is failing to protect Europe’s animals. For example, under British law, Food Standards Agency vets are required in all slaughterhouses whenever animals are being stunned and killed – so why were these abhorrent incidents of animal abuse not detected and stopped? Tougher, more stringent monitoring is clearly needed to correct the apparently commonplace illegality and cruelty in EU slaughterhouses. Animal welfare is of the highest importance, and is it the responsibility of the industry and national governments to ensure that effective monitoring takes place and prosecutions are brought.

The mandatory installation of CCTV cameras in British slaughterhouses, as advocated by Animal Aid, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and Compassion in World Farming, would be an effective and important tool to monitor abattoir practice as well as provide evidence of incidents of abuse. Not only would the introduction of cameras allow for the consistent monitoring of slaughterhouse employees, but it would also mean that any plant could be assessed at any time. The footage should also be made available to independent agencies, in the hope that this would encourage workers to adhere to welfare laws and reduce wanton cruelty.

The availability of CCTV footage could also be a crucial tool in the training of slaughterhouse employees, as well as vets and animal welfare representatives. Images of flagrant abuse could be used to reinforce the ethical implications of bad practice; indeed scenes uncovered by Animal Aid are already being used by Bristol University to train staff and vets. The retraining of existing industry staff could also be used to tackle incidents of rough handling and inefficient or inaccurate stunning.

The commission has indicated that the current EU regulation on the protection of animals at the time of slaughter does not preclude member states from requiring abattoirs to install cameras – meaning that national governments can take whatever steps they deem necessary to ensure slaughterhouses comply with the law. Pressure must now be placed upon national governments to bring forward the necessary legislation to make CCTV cameras a mandatory requirement without delay. The United Kingdom proclaims it follows high standards of animal welfare in its farming practices: we need to be sure this continues once animals have left the farm.

This article was published on Public Service Europe on the 2nd of February 2012: http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/1445/abattoir-abuse-shows-need-for-cctv-monitoring

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