Page 1 of 4

Dear Mrs. Metsola,

Attn:

Roberta Metsola, President of the European

Parliament

São Paulo, 23rd May, 2023

We, the undersigned animal protection and environmental organizations, and Congress

representatives, invite the the Council of the EU and members of the European Parliament, to

take the opportunity offered by the negotiations on the additional protocol to the EU-Mercosur

FTA- and to request to the European Commission and the Mercosur Common Market Council- to

include animal welfare provisions in the scope of the additional protocol, and hence in the

EU-Mercosur FTA. We believe there is political space to condition the market access of animal

based products to animal welfare conditions, given the EU and Mercosur pleads to not only

promote animals’ respect and dignity, but to also protect natural biomes of Brazil and the

Mercosur countries, such as the tropical rainforests, the savannahs, wetlands and the Pantanal,

as well as to protect human and animal health.

Animal welfare is a key concern for European and Brazilian citizens. According to a

Eurobarometer from 2016, 94% of EU citizens believe it’s important to protect the welfare of

farmed animals, and 93% want imported animal products to respect the same animal welfare

standards as those applied in the EU. In Brazil, a survey conducted by Datafolha Institute in

partnership with Fórum Animal de Defesa e Proteção Animal in 2021 showed that 88% of

consumers are concerned with the conditions in which animals are raised.

Including animal welfare conditionalities in the protocol would be coherent with the EU’s

Green Deal and Farm-to-Fork strategy as it would ensure that European consumption does not

fuel inhumane and unsustainable models of production beyond the EU’s borders. These

conditionalities would also give the opportunity to Brazil to lead the transition to sustainable

food systems in Latin America. Indeed, by conditioning the preferential market access of animal

products to animal welfare standards, producers intending to export to the EU market, would

integrate in their methods of production animal welfare concerns that are directly linked to

global issues we are facing, such as antimicrobial resistance, biodiversity loss and climate crisis.

public health issues such as improved environmental standards for animals.

For all these reasons, we the undersigned organizations and Congress representatives,

Page 2 of 4

respectfully request that:

I. The EU and Mercosur negotiate in the additional protocol to the EU-Mercosur FTA animal

welfare conditions for all animal based products, with the possibility of withdrawing tariff

preferences for products in breach of such animal welfare standards. This means that tariff

preferences granted on animal products should only apply if the following conditions are met :

a. Originating goods under the "TRQ Beef '' benefiting from the tariff elimination schedule shall

derive from animals that have been raised under the most sustainable pastoral farming

conditions. For greater certainty, this does not include commercial feedlots.

b.Originating goods under the TRQ for boneless poultry meat, and bone-in poultry meat shall

respect animal welfare standards equivalent to those applied in the EU.

II. That the EU and Mercosur negotiate cooperation mechanisms that will lead to:

a. An improvement of animal welfare standards in Mercosur to the same levels as European

countries;

b. The implementation of a tracking system in the animal product supply chains in order to allow

full transparency to South American and European consumers about the animal welfare

standards adopted, as well as clearly identify and promote products from companies not

involved in environmental crimes and animal cruelty;

III. The Protocol establishes an advisory board made up of representatives of animal protection

organizations.

IV. Cooperation aiming to phase out feedlots, meaning that the meat produced in the Mercosur

countries originated only from pasture.

V. That the European leaders support the Mercosur leaders with technological transfer to

promote the traceability of the production chain and to ban cruel practices of the food industry

such as, for example, the male chick culling, adopted by the egg industry, for which technologies

are already available to ban this practice, but are not yet available to South American countries;

VI. That the European leaders allow to concede to Mercosur governments accountable and

non-refundable funds to finance the transition for cage-free and more sustainable food

production systems to support small, medium, and large companies and producers to raise

animal welfare standards to the levels adopted until Europe by 2030, including, for example, the

banning of cages in the food systems. We also pledge that the European leaders to envisage all

the efforts to encourage the transition of the food production system to a sustainable model,

aligned with the 2030 Agenda;

VII. That European leaders negotiate that direct subsidies financed with taxes paid by citizens be

granted only to companies and producers who are not involved in environmental crimes and/or

animal cruelty, directly or indirectly;

VIII. That all the countries from Mercosur be requested to develop plans to control and track the

use of antibiotics as growth promoters, one of the main causes of the increase in antimicrobial

Page 3 of 4

resistance.

The FTA is in the interest of both economic blocs, but its ratification has stalled since

2019 over sustainability and deforestation concerns. We call on EU and Mercosur leaders to

negotiate ambitious animal welfare and sustainability conditions, to reach a deal that would

benefit people, animals, and a transition to sustainable food systems on both sides of the

Atlantic.

We are at your disposal to support the European Institutions in the conduction of this

process, contributing with scientific knowledge and other information that may be necessary for

the full realization of the above proposals.

Cordially,

Carla Lettieri, Animal Equality Brasil

Vania de Fátima Plaza Nunes, Fórum Nacional de Proteção e Defesa Animal

Carlos Giannazi, Alesp

Carolina Galvani, Sinergia Animal

Steffan Edward Octávio Oliveira, Animal Equality Brasil

Célio Studart, Chamber of Deputies

Renata Santinelli, Frente Mineira de Proteção Animal

Vanessa Negrini, NEDAI Núcleo de Estudos sobre Direitos Animais e Interseccionalidades, UnB

Alexander Welker Biondo, UFPR

Nathalie Nazareth Cote Gil, Instituto Sea Shepherd Brasil

Allan de Campos Silva, UNESP

Sandra Guimarães, União Vegana de Ativismo

Cristina Mendonça, Associação Mercy For Animals Brasil

Antoniana Ottoni, Animal Protection Consultant

Guilherme Zambarda Leonardi, Frente de Ações pela Libertação Animal

Luanda Francine Garcia da Costa, research group on Ethics and Animal Rights at Diversitas, USP

Kellner Martins Reis, Universidade do Estado do Amazonas

Vivian Catarina Dias, Diversitas/Usp

Andrea Tedesco Canales Rocha, UNESP

Artur Matuck, Universidade de São Paulo

Francisco José Garcia Figueiredo, Federal University of Paraíba

Carla Santana Soares Bulcão, Animal Philosophy

Thaísa Mara dos Anjos Lima, Instituto Protecionista SOS Animais e Plantas

Giorggia Petrucce Lacerda e Silva Abrantes, NEJA - Núcleo de Justiça Animal da UFPB

Amanda Risnik Ruiz, Mercy For Animals

Caio Mattos de Carvalho, SVB