Press release – 21 April 2021
FVE welcomes the entry into application of the new Animal Health Law, officially called Regulation 429/2016 on transmissible animal diseases. This Regulation will become applicable as from today. It provides the basic principles and rules for the prevention and control of animal diseases in livestock, wild animals and animal products.
FVE has carefully followed its policy developments since the start and acknowledges the effort made in adapting and aligning all former rules in one basic act in order to provide a full comprehensive and harmonized set of rules aiming to prevent and control transmissible disease outbreaks in the EU.
The new Animal Health Law promotes ‘prevention is better than cure’ through better early detection and control of animal diseases, including emerging diseases linked to climate change. The Animal Health Law, also introduces the requirement for operators to make sure that establishments receive regular animal health visits from a veterinarian in order to strengthen animal health by improving disease prevention, in particular biosecurity and detection of disease.
By following the setting up of complementary legislation, FVE calls upon the EU Institutions and national policy makers to consider the following driving principles:
- Prevention is better than cure – greater investments in prevention, in research and in scientific advances are key to improve the health and welfare of animals;
- Animal health, welfare, food safety and public health are all linked – it is necessary to take a holistic view focusing on all aspects together.
- A One Health approach remains essential in preventing animal diseases, protecting the environment and the health of people;
- Animal health visits are a crucial tool as they have potential to improve livestock health, enhance economic efficiency and sustainability, as well as to reduce use of antibiotics.
FVE calls upon EU and national policymakers to implement the FVE guidelines and as such, to ensure that these animal health visits reach their full potential of being a practical and meaningful tool adding value to farmers, veterinarians, consumers and society alike.
Further readings
- Regular animal health visits add value
- Berlin principles on One Health – Bridging global health and conservation
