Considerations on the sphere of application of application of European Union animal protection legislation for horses

The increasing awareness of animal welfare issues among consumers and the general public within the European Union has brought the European Legislature to pass the necessary laws concerning the protection of animals kept for zootechnical purposes in the various steps of the food chain, from breeding to slaughtering. Considering horses may be kept for different purposes, as companion animals on one hand or as farm animals on the other, European legislation on animal protection appears to apply to them only in part. However, at a closer look, in consistency with the competence areas of the EU as defined by the Treaty, it is the purpose of the activity (be it economic/commercial or not) and not the final purpose of the equine (be it DPA or non-DPA, i.e. destined or not for human consumption) along the whole food chain that becomes the decisive factor for the application of the above cited legislation, which has been issued to avoid disparities which could determine distortions within the common market. Even horses which are not kept for food production are addressed by EU laws, when they are bred or transported in connection with a commercial activity, while equines kept for purposes outside this context are protected only by national laws.