Review of EU farm animal welfare inspection systems, enforcement gaps, and proposals to strengthen compliance monitoring.
EU farm animal welfare legislation is more comprehensive than most global comparators, but enforcement is uneven and often inadequate. Inspection systems that rely on infrequent, resource-constrained checks fail to detect or deter chronic welfare violations. Strengthening enforcement through increased frequency, outcome-based assessment, meaningful penalties, and technology-assisted monitoring would substantially improve real-world welfare outcomes.