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Fifth EURCAW-Poultry-SFA & EU Member States Competent Authorities network meeting
October, 01-02, 2024, Virtual
The fifth EU-network meeting between representatives of EU MS Competent Authorities (CAs) and the EURCAW-Poultry-SFA, took place virtually on October 01-02, 2024 on 2 *0,5 days. In total 49 participants, from 22 EU MSs participated, including 29 delegates from CAs, 13 from EURCAW-Poultry-SFA, and 7 observers: one DG SANTE unit G5 representatives, three EFSA representatives, and three EFTA representatives.
This meeting was the occasion to present the Centre’s work performed since the last meeting in 2023. Furthermore, it permitted participants to discuss potential future priority areas of work, identify possible collaboration at the national level, and identify the main needs and expectations of CAs.
The presentations are available here.
The report is available here.
National Reference Centres and Supporting Bodies Meeting 2024
On 17 September the four EURCAWs hosted an online meeting with National Reference Centres (NRCs) for Animal Welfare and the Supporting Bodies (SBs) of Competent Authorities. Over 50 people attended the meeting, with representation from across EU Member States.
The meeting started with presentations from the EURCAWs, including an introduction to EURCAW Aqua (designated in January 2024), two NRCs and one SB. As the aim of the meeting is to explore ways to collaborate, workshops and interactive sessions were also used.
The first workshop session considered a theme relevant to all EURCAWs: “Approval and assessment of stunning equipment” and was presented by Dr Virginie Michel. The aim of the workshop was to have a better understanding about the needs of MSs and the type of work that the EURCAWs can provide on this topic.
Council Regulation No. 1099/2009 states that “Products marketed or advertised as restraining or stunning equipment shall only be sold when accompanied by appropriate instructions concerning their use in a manner which ensures optimal conditions for the welfare of animals. Those instructions shall also be made publicly available by the manufacturers via the Internet”.
However, some Member States have raised issues about new equipment being installed, for which proof of efficiency has not been made available. Polling tools were used to request feedback from NRCs and SBs and inform the workshop discussion.
After a short break, attendees were divided into EURCAW- specific workshops. The themes were:
- Managing larger litter sizes (EURCAW Pigs)
- Good practices (farm/transport/slaughter) (EURCAW Poultry-SFA)
- Emergency killing (EURCAW Ruminants & Equines)
The meeting finished with a wrap-up session including a summary of key points from the EURCAW-specific workshops.
The meeting short report is availalble here.
EURCAW-POULTRY-SFA'S SIXTH SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE
The Centre is celebrating the publication of its sixth scientific article as a result of the work carried out in Activity 2 in 2023.
A review of the technical and scientific literature on existing methods for assessing walking ability in broilers was conducted, and the reliability, validity and feasibility of the different methods were assessed when relevant information was available.
This review named " Overview of the various methods used to assess walking ability in broiler chickens" has been published in Veterinary Record and is available here.