1. EU’s animal welfare
research
EU Commission research strategy and
actions to support animal welfare policy
Washington
22 March 2012
Dr Judit KROMMER Dr Danièle TISSOT
DG Health & Consumers DG Research & Innovation
Directorate Veterinary and International Directorate Biotechnologies, Agriculture
Affairs and Food

2. What is HORIZON 2020?
• Commission proposal for a 80 billion euro
research and innovation funding programme
(2014-20)
• Part of proposals for next EU budget,
complementing Structural Funds, education, etc.
• A core part of Europe 2020, Innovation Union &
European Research Area:
– Responding to the economic crisis to invest in
future jobs and growth
– Addressing peoples’ concerns about their
livelihoods, safety and environment.
– Strengthening the EU’s global position in research,
innovation and technology

3. What’s new
• A single programme bringing together three
separate programmes/initiatives*
• More innovation, from research to retail, all forms of
innovation
• Focus on societal challenges facing EU society,
e.g. health, clean energy and transport
• Simplified access, for all companies, universities,
institutes in all EU countries and beyond.
*The 7th research Framework Programme (FP7), innovation aspects
of Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP), EU
contribution to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology
(EIT)

4. Three priorities:
• Excellent science
• Industrial leadership
• Societal challenges

5. Priority 3: Societal challenges
• EU policy objectives (climate, environment,
energy, transport etc) cannot be achieved without
innovation
• Breakthrough solutions come from multi-
disciplinary collaborations, including social
sciences & humanities
• Promising solutions need to be tested,
demonstrated and scaled up

6. Proposed funding (million euro, 2014-20)
Health, demographic change and wellbeing 8 033
Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine 4 152
and maritime research & the bio-economy
Secure, clean and efficient energy* 5 782
Smart, green and integrated transport 6 802
Climate action, resource efficiency and raw materials 3 160
Inclusive, innovative and secure societies 3 819
*Additional €1 050m for nuclear safety and security from the Euratom Treaty
activities (2014-18). Does not include ITER.

7. Next steps
• From 30/11: Parliament and Council negotiations
on the basis of the Commission
proposals
• Ongoing: Parliament and Council negotiations
on EU budget 2014-20 (including
overall budget for Horizon 2020)
• Mid 2012: Final calls under 7th Framework
Programme for Research to bridge
gap towards Horizon 2020
• By end 2013: Adoption of legislative acts by
Parliament and Council on Horizon
2020
• 1/1/2014: Horizon 2020 starts; launch of
first calls

8. Animal Welfare Research in FP7

9. From FP5 to FP7
• Increase project size
• Pure AW projects
• Broader projects including AW as a package
• From qualitative to quantitative welfare
assessment
• Coverage of new species in relation to future
AW strategy

10. Seventh Framework Programme
Animal Welfare
• 2007 first Call: 2 projects selected
• 2008 Calls: topic closed
• 2009 Call: topic closed
• 2010 Work Programme: 3 projects selected
• 2011 Call: ERA-Net on Animal Health and
Welfare
• 2012 Call: topic closed
• 2013 Call: intention to open again for animal
welfare linked to production aspects

11. EU Seventh Framework Programme
First call 2007 (1)
Econwelfare: Good animal welfare in a socio-
economic context: Project to promote insight on
the impact for the animal, the production chain
and society of upgrading AW standards
overall objective: policy instruments needed to achieve the aims of
the Action Plan on Animal Welfare
• What are the current welfare initiatives and standards within the EU
and in the EU’s most important trading countries?
• What are the strength and weaknesses of these initiatives and
standards to the animal, society and the production chain?
• What policy instruments can be designed to promote high(er) animal
welfare standards and how can progress in the pathway towards
these standards be monitored?
• What are the benefits and costs of upgraded welfare standards and
what are the implications for international trading patterns?
http://www.econwelfare.eu/

12. EU Seventh Framework Programme
First call 2007 (1)
EAWP: European Animal Welfare Platform: adding
welfare quality to food/progressing animal welfare
throughout the food chain
 Forum of 21 Leading companies/organisations
Producers/Farmers
Processors
Retailers
Interest groups/NGO’s
Academia
Aim: to interchange information on animal welfare and to
identify key welfare issues, best practices, improvement
strategies and R&D needs
• Stakeholder platform facilitating the exchange of knowledge,
experience, expertise to support:
• Implementation of science-based welfare assessment
• Information systems
• Improvement strategies
• Market initiatives
• Research & development
• Policy formulation

13. EU Seventh Framework Programme
Call 2010
• AWIN: Amimal Welfare Indicators:
Development, integration and dissemination of
animal-based welfare indicators, including
pain, in commercially important husbandry
species, with special emphasis on small
ruminants, equidae and turkey
• Aware: Animal welfare research in an
enlarged Europe
• COPEWELL: Coping ability of farmed fish-
towards a deeper understanding of fish
welfare

14. AWIN
Animal Welfare Indicators
Objectives:
• to develop animal welfare assessment protocols, including pain
assessment protocols, for sheep, goats, horses, donkeys and
turkeys.
• to study the impact of diseases and pain on animal welfare.
• to examine how different prenatal social environments, social
dynamics and prenatal handling methods affect the development
and welfare of the offspring in sheep, goats and horses.
• to create a global hub for research and education in animal
welfare that will integrate past, present and future research and
teaching materials.
http://www.animal-welfare-indicators.net/

15. AWARE
Animal welfare research in an enlarged Europe
• To develop sustainable and actively
expanding Europe-wide networks of farm
animal welfare scientists and of stakeholder
platforms
• Mapping/promoting
• Workshops and courses
1. Farm animal welfare research
2. Animal welfare university education
3. Animal welfare awareness and implementation

16. COPEWELL
A new integrative framework for the study of fish
welfare based on the concepts of allostasis,
appraisal and coping styles
• Most important species tested: Atlantic salmon,
European sea bass, and gilthead sea bream
• 4 relevant concepts:
• coping styles: links between brain function, behaviour
and adaptative physiology for ability to cope with
stressors
• Appraisal: how fish appraise their world and understand
positive and negative stimuli
• Allostasis: evolutionarily rooted concept applied to fish
• Ontogeny: of neural function and neuroendocrine stress
responses

17. Call 2011
ERA-Net on Animal Health and Welfare:
ANIHWA
• an ERA-NET instrument using grants to
support public-public partnerships in their
preparation, establishment of networking
structures, design, implementation and
coordination of joint activities as well as
topping up of individual joint calls and of
actions of a transnational nature;

18. Thank you for your
attention!