WRITTEN QUESTION P-0077/02

by Astrid Thors (ELDR) to the Commission

(17 January 2002)

Subject: Scientific Committee report on animals kept for fur production

A working party composed of eight experts in the field of research into animals kept for fur production from France, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Finland, appointed by the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare carried out a study of the welfare of such animals over a one-and-a-half year period.

The working party had its last meeting in May 2001 and thereafter submitted a draft report, running to just over 200 pages, to the Scientific Committee's subcommittee. The Scientific Committee considered the report on 12-13 December 2001.

The final outcome of the committee's deliberations came as a shock to the members of the working party. The report had been reworked so that it was unrecognisable and now contained a number of factual errors and misinterpretations of established research findings. A significant number of references had been left out or simply deleted, and new text, negative towards fur farming, had been inserted without any references whatsoever to research reports.

The researchers responsible for drafting the original report reacted strongly. In a letter of 3 January 2002 to the Scientific Committee, signed by six of the eight members, they demanded that the report be withdrawn and revised in an objective manner on the basis of the scientific research presented in their own report, otherwise they would not allow their names to be associated with the report. They list 42 points where the current report diverges very substantially from their own report.

Does the Commission consider that the independent Scientific Committee has fulfilled its role of providing it with highly qualified scientific advice on matters relating to animal welfare? Has the Committee provided it with a sound scientific basis for drawing up proposals for legislation and other proposals, as required by the rules governing the Committee's activities?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(1 March 2002)

The Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare, as one of the eight such committees established by Commission Decision 97/579/EC of 23 July 1997 setting up Scientific Committees in the field of consumer health and food safety(1), provides independent scientific advice as part of the risk assessment exercise on potential risks to public health, animal health, animal welfare etc. It is the Commission's policy not to interfere in this process in order to ensure that public trust in the transparency and independence of the risk assessment exercise is intact. This process will be put on an even sounder footing now that there has been final agreement on the establishment of a European Food Safety Agency.

The Committee's sub-committee on animal welfare established a working group with a mandate to prepare a report on the welfare of animals kept for fur production, for submission to the sub-committee. It was made clear to the working group, as is provided for in the Commission Decision, that it would be the responsibility of the sub-committee to prepare and adopt a draft opinion with a final adoption of the opinion by the Committee after review and possible amendment. This procedure was followed and after an in depth examination of the working group's report, the sub-committee adopted a draft opinion on 26 November 2001 with a final adoption by the Committee on 12-13 December 2001. The Commission is satisfied that the provisions of its Decision establishing the Scientific Committees and governing their operation were followed.

Following the adoption of the opinion, a member of the Working Group, on behalf of six of the eight members, sent a letter to the Commission and to the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare. The views expressed in the letter have been discussed at the meeting of sub-committee on Animal Welfare on 21 January 2002 and in the meeting of the Scientific Committee on 5 February 2002. The Committee has

decided to reply to the members of the working group and to publish on the Internet an erratum (which is sent direct to the Honourable Member and to Parliament's Secretariat) containing the modifications accepted by the Committee.

The Commission reserves the right to take the final decision on the appropriate follow up action. This is keeping in mind with the view that while scientific risk assessment must be carried out independently and transparently, risk management is a matter for the Commission and the other Community institutions. In the case of fur farming, the Commission will therefore decide whether follow-up action, if any, is required and will submit proposals accordingly to the Member States and/or the Parliament. The opinion of the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare will be taken into account in this process.

(1) OJ L 237, 28.8.1997.