EURCAW-Pigs was the first reference centre, designated by the Commission in March 2018. This was followed by a second centre in October 2019, devoted to the welfare of poultry and other small-farmed animals.

Official Controls

The Official Controls Regulation, adopted in March 2017, has established harmonised EU rules to prevent, eliminate or reduce the level of risk to humans, animals and plants, along the agri-food chain. Official controls, undertaken by competent authorities in each Member States, serve to check whether these rules are correctly implemented. The Regulation requires that EU Reference Centres for animal welfare are established to assist EU countries in their official controls.

Consortium

The reference centre specialising in animal welfare for ruminants and equinesis constitutes of a consortium led by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the Swedish Centre for Animal Welfare. The consortium is also composed of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Austria), the Ellinikos Georgikos Organismos-Dimitra/Veterinary Research Institute (Greece), the National Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (France), the University College Dublin (Ireland) and the Instituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise “G. Caporale” (Italy).

EU Reference Centre focusing on the welfare of ruminants and equines designated

Onderwerp

EURCAW Ruminants and equines