—

having regard to Articles 13 and 43 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU),

—

having regard to Council Directive 2008/120/EC of 18 December 2008 laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs,

—

having regard to Council Directive 2008/119/EC of 18 December 2008 laying down minimum standards for the protection of calves,

—

having regard to Council Directive 1999/74/EC of 19 July 1999 laying down minimum standards for the protection of laying hens,

—

having regard to Council Directive 2007/43/EC of 28 June 2007 laying down minimum rules for the protection of chickens kept for meat production,

—

having regard to Council Directive 98/58/EC of 20 July 1998 concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes,

—

having regard to the Special Eurobarometer 442, entitled ‘Attitudes of Europeans towards Animal Welfare’, published in March 2016,

—

having regard to the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) Scientific Opinion Concerning the Welfare of Animals during Transport of 12 January 2011,

—

having regard to EFSA’s Scientific Opinion on ‘The impact of the current housing and husbandry systems on the health and welfare of farmed domestic rabbits’ of 11 October 2005,

—

having regard to Chapter 7.5 of the World Organisation for Animal Health’s (OIE) Terrestrial Animal Health Code, entitled ‘Slaughter of animals’,

—

having regard to the UK Government’s Code of Recommendations for the Welfare of Rabbits,

—

having regard to Rule 52 of its Rules of Procedure,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (A8-0011/2017),

A.

whereas rabbits are the fourth most farmed animal in the world and the second most farmed species in the EU in terms of numbers;

B.

whereas European producers are required to meet high standards of animal health and welfare that are not always compulsory in third countries exporting animals for slaughter to the EU;

C.

whereas consumers are becoming increasingly attentive to the conditions under which animals are being reared;

D.

whereas rabbit farming has been very hard-hit by the decline in meat consumption in the European Union and the economic crisis in farming and whereas sales prices have fallen by some 20 % in three years, while production costs have remained constant;

E.

whereas account should be taken of the nutritional contribution made by rabbit meat and the role its production plays in family-run businesses, accounting for a significant share of jobs for women in many rural areas where there are few possibilities for livestock diversification;

F.

whereas just as much account should be taken of the welfare of farmers as of animal welfare;

G.

whereas the majority of rabbits are farmed for meat production, with over 340 million rabbits slaughtered for meat ever year; whereas rabbit farming represents less than 1 % of the EU’s final livestock production;

H.

whereas the rabbit farming sector in the EU faces a steady decline and the figures for 2016 point to a 4,7 % fall in production owing to a consumer trend of declining rabbit meat consumption; whereas the rabbit farming sector operates in global market conditions and does not benefit from direct aid or market interventions under Pillar I of the Common Agricultural Policy;

I.

whereas the EU has a negative trade balance with China with regard to rabbit meat; whereas 99 % of rabbit meat imports into the EU originate from China; whereas Chinese producers will out-compete EU farmers, with adverse animal welfare implications, if no action is taken;

J.

whereas it is both important and necessary to achieve and maintain profitable rabbit production so that it can continue to help preserve the rural fabric and employment, particularly for women, in areas where other types of production are not possible, as well as continuing to offer varied, high-quality food to consumers;

K.

whereas the European Union is the prime producer of rabbits in the world, ahead of Asia and particularly China, which, producing 417 000 tonnes of carcasses, is the biggest exporter;

L.

whereas rabbit farmers and the sector as a whole have an interest in ensuring that rabbit breeding in line with the European production model continues to uphold the highest standards in the world with regard to food safety, animal health and welfare and respect for the environment;

M.

whereas European rabbit farming is based on the coexistence of different production systems, and whereas rabbit farming is an important way of diversifying the income of many small farms throughout the territory;

N.

whereas, with a mean consumption of 1,70 kg per inhabitant, rabbit meat is one of the least consumed meats in the Union (between 1 % and 2 % of all meat consumed);

O.

whereas there are grave concerns regarding the poor welfare, high stress levels and high mortality and morbidity rates of farm rabbits in Europe, as already concluded by EFSA in 2005; whereas the housing, feeding, genetics, health aspects and optimisation of the emotional state of rabbits kept for farming purposes are vital questions for stakeholders involved in rabbit farming, especially with regard to maintaining animal health and welfare;

P.

whereas, since their domestication, the majority of rabbits in the EU are usually kept in battery cages, which can — and often do — vary from country to country in terms of their specifications;

Q.

whereas the rabbit, like other species that coexist with humans, keeps elements of its natural behaviour, and further research therefore needs to be carried out on measures and conditions that can be implemented during rearing to ensure that rabbits are able to maintain their natural behaviour as far as possible, provided that this has a positive impact on their own health;

R.

whereas, for the purposes of intensive farming, breeds of rabbit which grow quickly and early — formerly called ‘meat rabbits’ — are used, in particular commercial hybrids used on industrial breeding farms for the production of meat animals;

S.

whereas organic production systems where fattening rabbits are kept in group pens with access to a small area of pasture and more space overall are a possible alternative to battery farming, although such group housing systems may pose problems in relation to negative social interactions and aggressiveness among the animals, causing lesions that affect their health and welfare and an increase in diseases transmitted through the oro-faecal route;

T.

whereas some national rules on organic production advocate that rabbits be raised in group pens equipped with access to a small area of pasture at the base of the pen;

U.

whereas, as in the case of other species such as poultry, research could be undertaken into alternative production systems, including organic production systems, that can offer consumers a wider range of food products and have hitherto been developed only to a limited extent;

V.

whereas, having regard to the above, further research should be carried out on the challenges and opportunities of group housing systems;

W.

whereas the sector’s low level of economic significance in the EU represents a strong disincentive for research and innovation aimed at improving rabbit health and welfare;

X.

whereas there are minimum EU standards for the protection of pigs (1), calves (2), laying hens (3) and broiler chickens (4), as well as the general Council Directive for the protection of animals kept for farming purposes (5), but there is no specific EU legislation on minimum standards for the protection of farmed rabbits; whereas increasing numbers of consumers and citizens across the EU are asking for regulation and better welfare for farm rabbits;

Y.

whereas the ban on the conventional caging of laying hens under Directive 1999/74/EC is now in force and has for the most part been successfully transposed in the Member States;

Z.

whereas some Member States have national legislation and legal requirements for rabbit farming and have developed guides of best practice in collaboration with the sector; whereas in 2012 Austria banned the keeping of rabbits in cages for meat production and Belgium has legislation in force that aims to phase out battery cages and replace them with park systems by 2025;

AA.

whereas the European Animal Welfare Strategy argued that existing legislation should be fully implemented before introducing more legislation, and that the development of guides to best practice should be encouraged;

AB.

whereas, considering the demand for a transition to alternative production systems and given the modest economic weight of rabbit farming in European animal production, the Member States and the Commission should be encouraged to undertake further research in the areas of rabbit health, welfare, rearing, housing, nutrition, behaviour and stunning;

AC.

whereas EFSA’s Scientific Opinion of 2005 on housing and husbandry systems for farmed rabbits recommended increases in cage size, lower maximum stocking densities for growing animals and therapeutic interventions, including the use of additives to reduce disease;

AD.

whereas the recommendations of the OIE’s Terrestrial Animal Health Code on animal slaughter, including methods of stunning and knowledge requirements for operators, apply to rabbits;

AE.

whereas Article 3 of Council Directive 98/58/EC on animal welfare requires ‘all reasonable steps’ to be taken to ensure the welfare of animals, and Article 4 defines standards for keeping animals in terms of ‘established experience and scientific knowledge’, which includes standards laid down by EFSA and the OIE;

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38.

39.

40.

41.

42.

43.

44.