The European Commission proposed tougher rules for slaughterhouses to ensure that farm animals are treated more humanely before they are killed. In the European Union, nearly 360 million farmed animals including pigs, sheep, goats, cows, and poultry are killed for meat. Another 25 million are killed for their fur.

Among the rules proposed for European Union slaughterhouses, no method of stunning and slaughter would be banned, even though some have been identified as less humane. However, the proposal would make it mandatory for slaughterhouse staff to be properly trained and for technical standards on equipment to be introduced. The efficiency of stunning methods must also be addressed.