December 1st marked a major victory for animals in the European Union. The result of a campaign initiated by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), the EU accorded all animals - including farmed animals and fish - the status of "sentient beings" on Monday, a designation that promises to shape all future European policies relating to raising, transporting and slaughtering animals.Philip Lymberry, Chief Executive of CIWF sums up the victory:
I remember how our late founder dreamed of changing the EU's underpinning Treaty to better address the status of animals. I remember how that goal was seen as impossible, impractical, by some, even laughable. Now that dream has come true. Now to make that other dream come true; an end to factory farming itself...
The status of animals as "sentient beings" had been declared in previous European treaties; however, these declarations were non-binding and carried little legal weight. Now, this status has been granted in a core Article of the Lisbon Treaty, the governing document of the EU, giving it real legal force.
The Article states that in formulating policy, the EU must "pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals."
While the EU is worlds ahead of the U.S. as far as farmed animal protection is concerned - having already banned battery cages, gestation crates and veal crates - such advances in the E.U. serve as guideposts for the U.S., in which seven states have banned one, two or all three of these confinement systems. Not only does Monday's victory for animals in the EU open the door for greater advances in animal protection in Europe, it also provides a new platform for American activists seeking similar gains in the U.S.
