First EU Reference Centre for Animal Welfare : Consortium including Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut designated : FLI Press Release 21/2017

Insel Riems, 07.03.2018. On 5th March 2018 the Commission designated a first European Union Reference Centre for Animal Welfare. Following a public selection process, a consortium formed by the Wageningen Livestock Research (the Netherlands), the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (Germany) and the Department of Animal Science at Aarhus University (Denmark) has been designated as EU Reference Centre. This first Centre will focus on pig welfare since improving the enforcement of the legislation of pigs is one of the Commission's priorities in the area of animal welfare. The Centre will provide 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.