Activities of Bart STAES related to 2013/0433(COD)
Plenary speeches (3)
Cloning of animals kept and reproduced for farming purposes (debate) NL
Cloning of animals kept and reproduced for farming purposes (debate) NL
Cloning of animals kept and reproduced for farming purposes (debate) NL
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the cloning of animals of the bovine, porcine, ovine, caprine and equine species kept and reproduced for farming purposes PDF (637 KB) DOC (463 KB)
Amendments (13)
Amendment 40 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital -1 (new)
Recital -1 (new)
(-1) In the implementation of Union policy and having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, a high level of protection of human health and consumer protection should be guaranteed, as well as a high level of animal welfare and environmental protection. At all times, the precautionary principle as laid down in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a should be applied. __________________ 1aRegulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety (OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1).
Amendment 41 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 1
Recital 1
(1) The cloning of animals is incompatible with Council Directive 98/58/EC20, which lays down general minimum welfare standards for animals bred or kept for farming purposes. ItDirective 98/58/EC calls on Member States to avoid unnecessary pain, suffering or injury of farm animals. If cloning causes unnecessary pain, suffering or injury, Member States have to act at national level to avoid it, and, more specifically, states that 'natural or artificial breeding procedures which cause, or are likely to cause, suffering or injury to any of the animals concerned must not be practised'. Different national approaches to animal cloning could lead to market distortion. It is thus necessary to ensure that the same conditions apply to all involved in the production and distribution of live animal clones, embryo clones, descendants of animal clones, germinal products of animal clones and of their descendants, and of food from animal clones and their descendants throughout the Union. __________________ 20 Council Directive 98/58/EC of 20 July 1998 concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes (OJ L 221, 8.8.1998, p. 23).
Amendment 44 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded, in its 2008 opinion on animal cloning20a, that 'the health and welfare of a significant proportion of clones (...) have been found to be adversely affected, often severely and with a fatal outcome'. More specifically, EFSA has confirmed that surrogate dams used in cloning suffer in particular from placenta dysfunctions contributing to increased levels of miscarriages21 . This contributes, amongst other things, to the low efficiency of the technique, 6 to 15 % for bovine and 6 % for porcine species, and the need to implant embryo clones into several dams to obtain one clone. In addition, clone abnormalities and unusually large offspring result in difficult births and neonatal deaths. __________________ High mortality rates at all development stages are characteristic of the cloning technique21a. __________________ 20a http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/ doc/767.pdf 21 Scientific Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food Safety, Animal Health and Welfare and Environmental Impact of Animals derived from Cloning by Somatic Cell Nucleus Transfer (SCNT) and their Offspring and Products Obtained from those Animals http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/c loning.htm?wtrl=01 21a http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/ doc/2794.pdf
Amendment 49 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2a) As regards food safety, EFSA stresses the importance of acknowledging that the data base is limited, and concludes: 'Uncertainties in the risk assessment arise due to the limited number of studies available, the small sample sizes investigated and, in general, the absence of a uniform approach that would allow all the issues relevant to this opinion to be more satisfactorily addressed.' As an example, EFSA states that information is limited on the immunological competence of clones and recommends that, should evidence become available of reduced immunocompetence of clones, the question should be investigated as to 'whether, and if so, to what extent, consumption of meat and milk derived from clones or their offspring may lead to an increased human exposure to transmissible agents'1a. __________________ 1a http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/ doc/767.pdf
Amendment 50 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 b (new)
Recital 2 b (new)
Amendment 81 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4 a (new)
Recital 4 a (new)
(4a) The majority of Union citizens disapprove of cloning for farming purposes due to, inter alia, animal welfare and general ethical concerns1a. Cloning for farming purposes could lead to animal clones or the descendants of animal clones entering the food chain. Consumers do not want to consume food from animal clones or from their descendants. __________________ 1aSee e.g. Eurobarometer reports of 2008 and 2010: http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/f l_238_en.pdf and http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archiv es/ebs/ebs_341_en.pdf
Amendment 84 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4 b (new)
Recital 4 b (new)
(4b) The prohibition of the cloning of animals, of the placing on the market of animal clones, embryo clones, descendants of animal clones, germinal products of animal clones and of their descendants, and of the placing on the market of food from animal clones and their descendants is a measure that is necessary in order to protect public morals and animal health, within the meaning of Article XX of GATT.
Amendment 88 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4 c (new)
Recital 4 c (new)
Amendment 125 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 a (new)
Article 1 a (new)
Amendment 127 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point a
(a) animals “kept and reproduced for farming purposes” ("the animals") means animals kept and reproduced for the production of food, wool, skin or fur or for other farming purposes, such as the preservation of rare breeds. It shall not include animals kept and reproduced exclusively for other purposes such as research, the production of medicinal products and medical devices, the preservation of rare breeds or endangered species, sporting and cultural eventresearch purposes;
Amendment 130 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) “cloning” means asexual reproduction of animals with a technique whereby the nucleus of a cell of an individual animal is transferred into an oocyte from which the nucleus has been removed to create genetically identical individual embryos (‘embryo clones’), that can subsequently be implanted into surrogate mothers in order to produce populations of genetically identical animals (‘animal clone’)aimed at producing a genetically identical or nearly identical copy of an individual animal;
Amendment 132 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b a (new)
(ba) ‘embryo clones’ means genetically identical individual embryos;
Amendment 133 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point b b (new)
(bb) ‘animal clones’ means genetically identical animals;