Does the proposal affect all slaughtered animals in the EU?
No, but the large majority of them are covered. The proposal concerns the killing of animals in slaughterhouses as well as those kept for farming purposes. This includes the killing of fur animals, of male day-old chicks (of laying hens breeds) or other killing taking place in farms. In particular it concerns the killing for disease control purposes (as occurred, for example, in the UK for the control of Foot and Mouth Disease). Animals killed due to, or following, scientific experiments are covered by a specific Directive presently also under revision. Animals killed under other circumstances (hunting, bullfighting, stray dogs or cats in shelters, animals in the wild, etc.) are not part of the scope of this proposal. Those areas are covered by national legislation and Community competences are either limited (hunting) or excluded. How many animals are concerned? Every year nearly 360 million pigs, sheep, goats and cattle as well as several billion poultry are killed in EU slaughterhou
