The ECR Group has been a leading voice for increasing standards on animal welfare. The ECR Group has led on a number of vital campaigns for the protection of animals and increasing their welfare, including on the sale of ivory, on the farming of fur, and animal testing for cosmetics.
ECR Members have been working hard to put pressure on the EU to follow the UK’s lead, and introduce a near total ban on the sale of ivory, and put in place some of the toughest rules on the sale of ivory in the world. Only global action will stamp out the ivory trade, which leads to the poaching of 20,000 elephants a year and contributes significant funds to criminal organisations. We want future generations to be able to enjoy our world’s diverse wildlife, not to just read about it in history books. By acting together and closing the market for these items, we can make a huge contribution to saving these beautiful animals.
ECR Members have also been working hard to ensure that the EU spearhead a global ban on the testing of cosmetics on animals. Animal testing of finished cosmetic products and cosmetic ingredients has been prohibited in the EU since September 2004 and March 2009 respectively.
Despite some notable legislative advances around the world, about 80% of the world’s countries still allow animal testing. The ECR believes that the continuation of this practice is out of date, unjustified and cruel, and does not reflect the alternative technology now available to cosmetic companies.
The ECR co-authored the European Parliament’s resolution calling for a global ban on this barbaric practice through the UN’s framework. The resolution also called upon the European Commission to step up its efforts to ensure that products tested on animals do not find their way on to the EU market, which would serve to undermine the testing and marketing bans already in place within the EU.
ECR Members have also been campaigning to bring the farming and sale of animal fur to an end in their own Member States. ECR Members have worked alongside civil society, environmental groups, producers, and politicians, holding exhibitions and campaigns to draw attention to the horrible conditions these animals are bred in, and put an end to the cruel method in which they are killed in order to leave the fur undamaged.
ECR Members held a three day - “Make Fur History” exhibition aimed to build awareness among EU decision makers of the cruelty associated with fur production and the need for more national bans on fur factory farming.
