MEPs once again turned their attention to the question of animal welfare and rejected a draft agreement between the EU and the US which seeks to ensure humane trapping standards for 13 types of fur-bearing animals.
The current debate stems from EU proposals dating back to 1991. These imposed a ban on the import of the furs of 13 animals from third countries which had not prohibited the use of leg-hold traps or ensured that those trapping methods met international agreed standards. The ban was due to come into effect at the start of 1996. However the United States and Canada threatened to take the issue to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) if the ban was enforced. The Commission and Council therefore negotiated the current draft agreement with the US in an attempt to resolve the matter.
However, the vast majority of MEPs condemned the agreement as thoroughly inadequate. They were particularly unhappy that the US had only agreed to phase out the use of conventional leg-hold traps within a six-year period. Furthermore, the agreement allows the US to continue to use such traps if no alternatives have been certified.
In the debate, Mary Banotti (Irl, EPP) argued that as a result of the draft agreement, animals would continue to be subjected to the indiscriminate cruelty of leg-hold traps for many years to come. Anita Pollack (UK, PES) condemned the agreement as weak and argued that the Commission should have gone ahead and implemented the 1991 regulation.
Despite this general outrage, however, the Council is only required to consult Parliament on this agreement and it will be implemented in due course.