The European Ombudsman, Jacob Söderman, has transferred a complaint he received from the Finnish Fur Farming Association and Finnish Fur Sales to the European Commission. The complaint is about the transparency and appropriateness of the procedure used to adopt the report on "The Welfare of Animals Kept for Fur Production".

The Ombudsman transferred the complaint with the complainant's consent because the complainant had not made the appropriate administrative approaches to the Commission before turning to the Ombudsman. If the association is not satisfied with the Commission's response to its complaint, it can lodge a new complaint with the Ombudsman.

The complaint

The Commission set up a working group to prepare the report for a Directive on fur production. The Commission's Scientific Committee of Animal Health and Animal Welfare adopted the report in December 2001. The complainant alleges that the Scientific Committee significantly amended the report that the Working Group adopted unanimously. She claims that the results of the Working Group were manipulated.

 

For further information, please call Benita Broms, Principal Legal Officer, tel: +32 (0) 2 284 25 43.