The EU-Mercosur agreement undermines the EU's progress on animal welfare.

From AnimaNaturalis, we firmly urge that the agreements be rejected in their current form, given their devastating impact on millions of animals. The Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay) are already the main trading partners of the EU in beef and poultry. The EU-Mercosur agreement will grant significant additional market access for these products, coming from intensive livestock systems. The vast majority of these animal products are produced in conditions far below EU standards, further fueling the intensification of cruel practices such as feedlots for cows and overcrowding systems for chickens. Despite the inclusion of additional provisions on sustainability, the agreement does not condition tariff preferences on the respect of stricter animal welfare standards, a historic demand of the citizens. The only condition related to welfare refers to eggs with shells, which have insignificant trade volumes with Mercosur countries, making this clause, although ...