EU animal protection legislation

The plan establishes that all animal husbandry shall be based on the fact that animals are sentient beings that shall live good lives, which carries demands for cage bans, bans on routine tail docking, and shorter animal transport. The plan explicitly favours jointly agreed minimum rules when binding cooperation is needed, which is precisely what strengthened EU animal welfare legislation means. It also wants to defend and build on the progress that has been made within the EU.

• animals are sentient beingsdecisive»All djurhållning ska utgå från att djur är kännande« (party programme ↗)“All animal husbandry shall be based on the fact that animals are sentient”
• common minimum rules»samarbeten är mellanstatligt överenskomna minimiregler vanligtvis« (party programme ↗)“agreements are inter-state agreed minimum rules usually”
• defend EU's progress»De framsteg som trots förutsättningarna gjorts inom ramen för EU är« (party programme ↗)“The progress that, despite the conditions, has been made within the EU framework is”
• sustainable farming»Jordbrukets långsiktiga hållbarhet är viktig för både ekosystemen och« (party programme ↗)“Agriculture's long-term sustainability is important for both ecosystems and”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan does not address animal welfare rules, but it sees the EU as the platform to tighten common protection at the European level and wants Sweden to push forward in the union. Tightened and modernized animal welfare rules also provide more even competitive conditions for the thriving Swedish food production that the plan wants to see. The derivation is indirect and the certainty is therefore low.

• the EU tightens common protectiondecisive»plattform för att på europeisk nivå skärpa skyddet av miljö, konsumenter och löntagare.« (party programme ↗)“platform to tighten protection of the environment, consumers and workers at the European level.”
• thriving food production»Livskraftig svensk livsmedelsproduktion som stärker landets självförsörjningsförmåga.« (party programme ↗)“Thriving Swedish food production that strengthens the country's self-sufficiency.”
• Sweden driving forward in the EU»Ett Sverige som driver på i EU och FN för att världens länder ökar sina« (party programme ↗)“A Sweden that pushes forward in the EU and the UN for the world's countries to increase their”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The election manifesto explicitly requires a ban on cage farming of hens, minimized suffering during transport and slaughter, and that animal protection in the EU is significantly strengthened. The party programme establishes that high standards for animal welfare shall apply across the union and that animals shall be able to perform their natural behaviors. The counter-proposal's requirement for cage ban, transport limits and strengthened EU rules are the same commitments.

• ban on cage farmingdecisive»förbjuda burhållning av höns.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“ban cage farming of hens.”
• strengthened animal protection in the EU»Djurskyddet i EU måste skärpas rejält.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Animal protection in the EU must be significantly strengthened.”
• reduced suffering during transport»minimera djurs lidande vid transport och slakt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“minimize animals' suffering during transport and slaughter.”
• right to natural behavior»Miljöpartiet vill att den svenska djurskyddslagens krav på rätt till naturligt beteende och djurvälfärd ska genomföras fullt ut.« (party programme ↗)“The Greens want the Swedish animal protection law's requirements for right to natural behavior and animal welfare to be fully implemented.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan wants to strengthen the competitiveness of Swedish agriculture within the EU and stipulates humanity's special responsibility for other living creatures. Stricter joint animal welfare rules in the EU improve animal welfare while Swedish producers, who already meet high standards, get more equal competitive conditions. The plan does not mention cage bans or transport times, so the position is derived from these commitments.

• more equal competitive conditionsdecisive»Det svenska lantbrukets konkurrenskraft, både inom EU och gentemot övriga världen, ska förstärkas.« (party programme ↗)“The competitiveness of Swedish agriculture, both within the EU and against the rest of the world, shall be strengthened.”
• responsibility for animals»Människan har ett särskilt ansvar att agera så att andra levande varelser också kan fortleva.« (party programme ↗)“Humanity has a special responsibility to act so that other living creatures can also survive.”
• strengthened green industries»Vi vill stärka de gröna näringarnas konkurrenskraft.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen the competitiveness of the green industries.”
• sharper joint policy»EU måste bli smalare, men vassare, göra färre saker men göra dem bättre.« (party programme ↗)“The EU must become narrower but sharper, do fewer things but do them better.”

The plan establishes that how we handle our animals is a measure of our civilization and that all animal keeping must guarantee animals a dignified life and a decent death. Sharpened and modernized EU rules are the way there, and the plan wants both EU regulations to be harmonized and that control of compliance is sharpened. The counter-proposal's demands for cage bans, transport limits and stricter common rules are therefore supported.

• dignified animal keepingdecisive»All djurhållning måste garantera djuren ett värdigt liv och en anständig död.« (party programme ↗)“All animal keeping must guarantee animals a dignified life and a decent death.”
• animal keeping as measure of civilization»Hur vi hanterar våra djur är ett mått på vår civilisation och en förutsättning för en god folkhälsa.« (party programme ↗)“How we handle our animals is a measure of our civilization and a prerequisite for good public health.”
• sharpened control of EU rules»Kontrollen av att nationella lagar och EU-regler efterlevs måste skärpas.« (party programme ↗)“Control of compliance with national laws and EU rules must be sharpened.”
• harmonized EU rules»Den inre marknaden ska utvecklas, regelverk ska harmoniseras och reformtakten för konkurrenskraft och produktivitet vara hög.« (party programme ↗)“The internal market shall be developed, regulations shall be harmonized and the pace of reform for competitiveness and productivity be high.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The party programme explicitly requires that long-distance animal transports are avoided to the greatest possible extent and that strict rules exist for how animals are treated during transport, and that stress, pain and injuries are avoided and that animals are allowed to live as natural a life as possible. It also requires that the EU's agricultural policy guarantees good animal husbandry and that the sector is given equivalent competitive conditions. The counter-proposal's demands for stricter EU rules are thereby the plan's own line.

• limited animal transportsdecisive»Långväga djurtransporter ska undvikas i största möjliga utsträckning. Strikta regler för hur« (party programme ↗)“Long-distance animal transports shall be avoided to the greatest possible extent. Strict rules for how”
• avoid suffering in animals»undvika stress, smärta och skador för djuren« (party programme ↗)“avoid stress, pain and injuries to animals”
• good animal husbandry in the EU»dessutom tjänar som garant för biologisk mångfald, god djurhållning och livsmedel« (party programme ↗)“moreover serves as a guarantee for biological diversity, good animal husbandry and food”
• equivalent competitive conditions»dessa näringar ges likvärdiga konkurrensvillkor gentemot andra länder.« (party programme ↗)“these sectors are given equivalent competitive conditions in relation to other countries.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The counter-proposal wants the EU to introduce detailed prohibitions and requirements – cage prohibitions, tail docking bans, eight-hour transport limits and generally higher animal welfare and environmental requirements – and a separate animal welfare commissioner. The plan's EU line is the opposite: the EU should neither do nor decide on everything, regulatory red tape should decrease and EU rules should be implemented at minimum level. For agriculture, the plan's method is to support with lower costs and fewer rules, not to impose new requirements.

• limited EU competencedecisive»Moderaternas syn på EU speglar vår syn på statens uppgifter: EU ska varken göra eller fatta beslut om allt.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Moderate view of the EU reflects our view of the state's role: the EU should neither do nor decide on everything.”
• EU rules at minimum level»Minska regelkrånglet och onödig byråkrati, bland annat genom att motverka överimplementering i Sverige av EU-beslut – som huvudregel ska EU-direktiv genomföras på miniminivå« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce regulatory red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy, among other things by preventing overimplementation in Sweden of EU decisions – as a general rule EU directives should be implemented at minimum level”
• support not steer agriculture»Moderaterna vill förbättra förutsättningarna att driva lantbruk genom att sänka skatterna, vilket vi redan börjat göra på drivmedel, och minska regelkrånglet så att kostnaderna för administration går ner.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Moderates want to improve the conditions for running agriculture by lowering taxes, which we have already begun to do on fuel, and reduce regulatory red tape so administration costs go down.”
• fewer rules for agriculture»Minska antalet regler för jordbruket och korta handläggningstider för miljötillstånd« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Reduce the number of rules for agriculture and shorten processing times for environmental permits”

flags: citat_migrerat

The plan's ambition is that Swedish standard for animal husbandry becomes standard throughout the EU, which is the core of the counter-proposal's requirement for modernized and tightened EU rules. The plan also wants to ban export and import of live animals for slaughter to reduce painful transports, which is close to the requirement for an eight-hour limit. Levelling the playing field follows from the plan's criticism that Swedish special requirements make domestic production more expensive.

• Swedish animal welfare standard in EUdecisive»Sverigedemokraternas ambition är att svensk standard vad gäller djurhållning ska bli standard för hela EU.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats' ambition is that Swedish standard regarding animal husbandry becomes standard for the whole of the EU.”
• shorter animal transports»Förbud av export och import av levande djur för slakt bör också införas för att minska plågsamma transporter och säkerställa att dålig djurhållning inte blir en konkurrensfördel.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Ban on export and import of live animals for slaughter should also be introduced to reduce painful transports and ensure that poor animal husbandry does not become a competitive advantage.”
• strengthened animal protection»Sverigedemokraterna vill ha ett stärkt djurskydd där större hänsyn tas till djurens naturliga beteende.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden Democrats want strengthened animal protection where greater consideration is taken to animals' natural behaviour.”
• equal playing field»Svenska särkrav för miljöskydd och djurvälfärd gör dessutom ofta inhemsk produktion dyrare än konkurrenternas utan att svenska lantbrukare kompenseras.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish special requirements for environmental protection and animal welfare moreover often make domestic production more expensive than competitors' without Swedish farmers being compensated.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.