Copa and Cogeca Animal Health and Welfare Working Party elected a new Chairman today Miguel Ángel Higuera whose top priority is implementation of the new EU animal health law as well as tackling animal diseases.
Talking after the elections in Brussels today, Miguel Ángel Higuera said “In the next two years, I will work hard to ensure that the new EU animal health law and delegated acts are implemented well and make sure that the concerns of farmers and cooperatives are taken into account. I will also continue to work on the different animal welfare initiatives and ensure that they are properly enforced. We already have some of the highest health and welfare standards in the world and consumers should be better informed on this. We will promote this during our discussions in the new EU Animal Welfare Platform”.
“Another priority for me is to tackle antibiotic resistance. Livestock farmers respect good animal husbandry principles and antibiotics need to be used responsibly. We are founding members of the European Platform for the Responsible Use of Medicines in Animals (EPRUMA) ‘and we believe that veterinary medicines, including antibiotics, need to be used responsibly to maintain their efficacy. Antibiotics should be used “as little as possible, and as much as necessary’. We will continue to explore new ways to promote the responsible use of antibiotics in farm animals. Recent reports nevertheless show that there has been a decline in sales of antimicrobials for food producing animals. This confirms that EU farmers are making every effort to reduce their use and we will continue to encourage this. We also support a pragmatic approach on EU proposals relating to medicated feed and veterinary medicines”.
It will also be important for me during my mandate to continue to work on eradicating animal diseases in the EU, especially Africa Swine Fever (ASF), Avian Flu, as these can have a devastating import on farmers livelihoods.
Mr Miguel Ángel HIGUERA, from the Spanish Cooperative Organisation Cooperativas Agro-Alimentarias, is a veterinarian specialising in pig production whose family run a mixed cattle and cereal farm. He will be supported by two Vice-Chairman Adam Drosio from the Polish farm Union FBZPR and François-Régis HUET from the French Farm Union FNSEA.
