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Today, following a public selection process, the Commission has designated, as EU Reference Centre for the welfare of poultry and other small farmed animals, a consortium formed by the Agence Nationale de Sécurité Sanitaire de l’Alimentation (France), and also composed of the Institut de Recerca I Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (Spain), Aarhus Universitet - Institut for Husdyrvidenskab (Denmark), and Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia Romagna (Italy).
A first centre was designated in March 2018, with works focusing on the welfare of pigs. This second Centre will expand the technical support and coordinated assistance to the Member States to carry out official controls on animal welfare. It will also contribute to the dissemination of good practices, as well as carrying out scientific studies, training courses and disseminating research and information on technical innovations. Improving the enforcement of the legislation is one of the Commission's priorities in the area of animal welfare. Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis welcomed this designation, stating that "it confirms the Commission’s consistent and long term policy to support strong enforcement on animal welfare. After the designation of a first centre on the welfare of pigs, a second centre on poultry and other small-farmed animals was essential since these animals are subject to intensive production methods”.
