As the year draws to a close, I want to take a moment to reflect with you on the highlights of the past 12 months.
These are not easy times. We live in a world that is increasingly polarised, in which populist narratives thrive.
Building a better future for animals, biodiversity, and, ultimately, human beings, may sometimes appear like an impossibly slow feat.
Yet, if the past taught us anything it is that achieving systemic change requires perseverance as well as a cohesive movement, and every step in the right direction counts.
We owe it to ourselves and the animals to celebrate our achievements, and I am certainly grateful for what we made happen.
Ahead of the European elections, our campaign Vote for Animals rallied over 1,000 pledges from candidates across Europe.
Of these candidates, 102 were elected, which spells hope for strong support in the European Parliament to stop unnecessary animal suffering, ban the cruellest trades in animal products, and help protect Europe’s precious wild animals.
The broad political support of our Our Vote for Animals shows how important animal welfare is for EU citizens.
Today, more than 90 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) signed up for the EP Intergroup for the Welfare and Conservation of Animals, which has been in place since 1983 and has just been re-established under the inspiring leadership of MEP Niels Fuglsang.
We are thrilled to have so many motivated MEPs ready and willing to help us build a better Europe for animals because there is much work ahead.
Changing our food system is more urgent than ever considering the current scale of the farmed animal welfare crisis.
In effect, the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture, in which we proactively participated, unanimously concluded that animal welfare legislation must be revised by 2026, emphasising the urgent need for a phase-out of cage systems.
We look forward to working with other stakeholders of the recently launched European Board on Agriculture and Food to transform these recommendations into reality.
In this new political term, and for the first time, animal welfare was officially included in an EU Commissioner’s title.
This is a historic milestone and the result of years of dedicated advocacy.
The new commissioner for health and animal welfare should work closely with the commissioners responsible for agriculture, fisheries, trade and environment, among others, to ensure ambitious animal welfare standards in all relevant EU legislation.
Speaking of legislation, work has started on the legislative proposal for a revision of the Regulation on the transport of live animals.
There is no time to waste to improve this legislation because live transport causes unimaginable suffering.
Animals continue to die at Europe’s borders and there is no solution in sight. While the current proposal is not sufficiently ambitious, we are ready for the challenge and will strive to ensure the best possible improvements.
The other legislative proposal in the pipeline is for improving the welfare of dogs and cats and their traceability.
It marks a major step forward compared to the current situation but we are convinced that even stronger safeguards must be put in place for all pets, including by introducing an EU-wide Positive List - which would define species permitted to be kept as pets, dependent on their unique welfare needs.
While - for now - we lost the battle on maintaining maximum protection for wolves in the EU, we were proud to be among many NGOs who stood together against political pressure to downgrade their safeguarding.
This chapter is not over. We will continue to work tirelessly to champion the peaceful coexistence between human activities and wild animals and a science-based conservation approach.
There is hope on the horizon in many other fields that are close to our hearts and we must concentrate on these successes.
For instance, we contributed to a pivotal EU roundtable that advanced the dialogue on the structure of the European Commission’s roadmap to phase out animal testing for chemical safety assessments, promoting a future of safer, more ethical, and innovative science.
Next year will be the year of the truth for the new commissioner for health and animal welfare.
We expect him to follow through on the commitment to revise animal welfare legislation and to live up to the expectations of the millions of citizens who want to see animals much better protected in the European Union.
I am grateful for being part of a phenomenal movement of animal advocacy professionals; for our 102 member organisations in 26 European countries and internationally, who make our work possible; and grateful to our generous donors, who allow us to expand our areas of influence.
Together, we are fully prepared to achieve even more for animals in 2025.