In March 2026, after 8 years of negotiations, the EU and Australia concluded a new free trade agreement, set to remove most tariffs and to strengthen ties between the two regions.
What makes it stand out for animals is that the agreement formally recognises them as sentient beings. It also sets animal welfare requirements for traded animal products and establishes a framework for ongoing cooperation to improve animal welfare practices, including in farming, transport and slaughter.
The agreement still needs to clear legal checks, translation, and approval processes before signature, expected in late 2026 or early 2027. Full entry into force could take up to two years.
To unpack what this means in practice, we spoke with Eurogroup for Animals and the Australian Alliance for Animals about the deal’s implications for animals on both continents.
1. The Agreement explicitly recognises that animals are sentient beings. What implications does that have for animals?
European perspective
The recognition of animals as sentient beings in the EU-Australia agreement is an important development. It acknowledges that animal welfare is increasingly being integrated into international trade policy.
This recognition is further supported by a number of provisions in the agreement, such as the inclusion of animal welfare-related conditions for key products. These include grass-fed requirements for beef (although under this quota cattle may spend some time at feedlots) and sheep meat, cage-free conditions for shell eggs exported from Australia to the EU, as well as provisions on cooperation in the area of wildlife.
This can be seen as a step in the right direction. The real test, however, will be the extent to which these provisions translate into meaningful improvements on the ground for animals in both the EU and Australia.
We hope that this agreement can contribute to driving positive change in production systems and set a clearer direction for future trade agreements.
Australian perspective
The recognition of animal sentience in the EU-Australia Free Trade Agreement is a significant development for Australia.
The EU is Australia’s third-largest trading partner, and this is only the second Australian trade agreement to explicitly recognise animals as sentient beings (following the signing of the Australia-UK FTA in 2021) . That matters in a country where governments have historically been slow and cautious in formally recognising animal sentience in law and policy.
Recognition at this level also helps overcome one of our biggest barriers to national progress. Under the Australian Constitution, animal welfare regulation is largely the responsibility of state and territory governments, which results in fragmented and inconsistent standards and piecemeal approaches to reform.
Embedding animal welfare and sentience within international trade agreements establishes a stronger basis for the federal government to take a leadership role, fostering greater national consistency and sustained progress.
The agreement also comes at an opportune time as we’re in the process of developing a new national strategy for animal welfare. The agreement will serve as an important reminder for Australia to adopt a progressive, science-based approach to animal welfare policy.
2. The Agreement also establishes a cooperation framework. What real benefits for animals does the implementation of such a framework have?
European perspective
It is important that such provisions are included, as they create a structured space for dialogue on animal welfare between both parties. This can allow stakeholders and policymakers on both sides to raise concerns, share evidence, and propose improvements to animal welfare standards.
In principle, this type of cooperation also has the potential to support convergence towards higher welfare practices over time, especially since the EU is in the process of revising its animal welfare laws. At the international level, it allows the EU and Australia to act as like-minded partners in promoting better animal welfare standards globally.
However, the real impact will depend heavily on political will, prioritisation, and the resources dedicated to implementing this cooperation. Experience from other EU trade agreements shows that such provisions can remain largely declaratory unless actively followed up. It therefore remains to be seen to what extent this framework will translate into concrete improvements for animals on the ground.
Australian perspective
The cooperation framework in the agreement creates an important mechanism for Australia and the EU to work together on animal welfare issues at both the bilateral and international level, particularly through the development of international standards via the World Organisation for Animal Health. Greater cooperation with the EU could help encourage stronger welfare outcomes and provide opportunities to share expertise, scientific evidence and policy approaches.
However, as Eurogroup for Animals notes, such commitments can remain largely declaratory unless they are actively pursued and prioritised by governments. In Australia, animal welfare has often struggled to attract sustained federal attention, particularly where reforms are perceived to affect agricultural trade interests.
Leadership from the European side in promoting cooperation under this framework will be a new and welcome catalyst for action for the Australian Government.
3. This deal follows other major agreements, such as the EU-Mercosur and the Australia-UK FTAs. What lessons have been integrated into this new deal, and where does it still fall short?
European perspective
Compared to the EU-Mercosur trade agreement, which is still not ratified in the EU, the EU-Australia agreement goes further in certain respects from an animal welfare perspective. In particular, it includes animal welfare-related conditions on key traded products where there is significant trade, such as beef and sheep meat. This is an important difference, as these are meaningful trade flows between the EU and Australia. By contrast, in the EU-Mercosur agreement, animal welfare-related provisions are limited only to products such as shell eggs, where there is currently very limited trade.
As a result, the practical impact on the ground is significantly more limited. In that sense, the EU-Australia agreement represents a step forward in animal welfare. One key shortcoming is that it does not fully exclude production systems such as feedlots for cattle. While there are conditions in place, cattle may still spend part of their production cycle in such systems.
In that regard, more ambitious models already exist, such as the approach taken in the EU-New Zealand trade deal, where beef imports exclude feedlot-based production.
Australian perspective
The EU-Australia agreement builds on precedents established in the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement, particularly through the recognition of animal sentience and the inclusion of animal welfare cooperation provisions. However, there are also important omissions.
Unlike the UK agreement, the EU deal does not include commitments to encourage improvements to animal welfare standards over time, nor does it establish a dedicated joint animal welfare working group to oversee cooperation and implementation. These were important features of the EU’s draft text early in the negotiations, but were unfortunately removed in the final text.
Both the UK and EU negotiations also demonstrated that Australia’s animal welfare standards are now subject to far greater international scrutiny than in the past. Concerns around practices such as intensive confinement systems, invasive procedures like live lamb cutting (also known as “mulesing”), kangaroo shooting, live animal exports and feedlot production became prominent issues during negotiations.
The broader lesson for Australia is increasingly clear: improving standards is no longer just an ethical issue, but increasingly a trade and market access issue as well. At a time when trade diversification is essential to mitigating risks in an increasingly unstable world, lifting domestic standards to meet the import requirements of major, reliable trade partners like the EU could not be more important.
Animal welfare gaining traction in international trade policy
Animal welfare doesn’t usually sit at the centre of trade negotiations. However, recent debates over deals like EU-Mercosur show how animals are closely tied to sustainable food systems and public health, among others.
While the EU-Australia agreement still has room for improvement, it does represent a positive step in the right direction for animal welfare.
The challenge will be to turn these provisions from paper into practice. That will take political will, sustained engagement and cooperation between the EU and Australia, and continued pressure from civil society to hold governments to their commitments.
Follow us on X, Facebook, Bluesky, or LinkedIn, and subscribe to our Weekly Digest to stay informed on news that matter for animals.
