Sharing this here quickly, as I have been made aware of it, and it seems very important to publicise. Please complete/share it where relevant.
The EU is currently in the process of revising its animal protection policies and using a survey to collect input between 15 October 2021 and 21 January 2022.
I have been told that it is one of the most significant opportunities for animal welfare progress on a legislative level ever seen in the EU.
Anyone can participate, including research institutions.
In many countries, there have been relatively few responses. Only 21 people in Ireland have responded to the survey, for instance. People from these countries can potentially have a more outsized response on their representatives or local policy. [Not sure how it works, but I imagine EU representatives will be particularly sensitive to responses from their citizens.]
To participate, you need to sign up for an account by email. It took about five minutes from asking to create an account, to being sent the sign-up email and arriving at the survey page.
How should I fill out the survey?
Conor Spence has written a Google doc guide showing how to fill in the survey with screenshots. This is based on the content below.
Alternatively, please see this guide from Anima International, or contact animal advocacy organisations in the Open Wing Alliance (OWA) and Eurogroup for Animals (EfA) networks (the links show who the member organisations in your country are). [Thanks to Neil Dullaghan for making me aware of the organisations and initiatives].
Neil also suggests: In the last section "14. Is there any other comment you would like to add?", which the video doesn't cover, one may want to use that space to address other issues such as requesting bans on octopus farming and fur farming (though I personally am a little sceptical the EU can/will outright ban an entire sector).
Acknowledgements
I'd like to thank Cian Mullarkey from EA Ireland for making me aware of this opportunity.
Thank you, Peter, for updating the post with the video tutorial. It's part of a toolkit we have been promoting to animal advocacy groups through our networks in order to increase their capacity for engaging their followers.
In regard to part 14 (the open commentary) Anima International will, as Neil also suggests, use this opportunity to ask for more focus on fish and invertebrates:
"Widening the scope: It is important that species specific requirements are in place for all animals, including the groups that are currently excluded or have only minimal legal protection, such as fish and invertebrates. It is also important that these requirements incorporate up to date scientific knowledge and consider the moral attitudes of citizens."
Our full comment can be seen here for inspiration.