Welfare of farmed animals in European Union law: the challenging protection of sentient beings in the agricultural sector

This paper examines the protection of farmed animals under European Union law, considering the tension between their formal recognition as sentient beings in Article 13 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and their concurrent classification as agricultural products under the same Treaty. This dual status raises the central question of how law attempts to reconcile economic interests of the agriculture system driven by productivity and our ethical duty to ensure good welfare of animals in human care. To address this, historical and analytical legal methods alongside an interdisciplinary approach are employed to explore the evolution of farmed animal protection in primary and secondary law and to assesses the practical implications of this legal framework on the lives of billions of animals farmed within the EU. The findings indicate that the current legislative framework is outdated from a scientific point of view, and its drafting hinders effective enforcement at the Member State level. Furthermore, the Common Agricultural Policy’s persistent support for intensification limits progress in animal welfare and pushes it lower on the list of political priorities. Set against the backdrop of the Farm to Fork Strategy, the paper provides insights into the political and legislative processes shaping the planned revision of the animal welfare legislation and offers a legal perspective on the structural obstacles to a meaningful reform.