The European Commission has confirmed that cattle hides and skins have been removed from the scope of the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), lifting what would have been a significant practical burden for meat processors.
These are by-products rather than a driver of livestock farming in their own right and full traceability is impractical to apply at a commercial level, so it makes sense to remove them from the regulation. Although hides have relatively low value compared with the rest of the carcase, the income they generate contributes to overall carcase balance and processor viability. If they could not be sold into the leather supply chain, processors would instead face the cost of disposal. This pragmatic move by the EU therefore avoids unnecessary traceability and compliance costs while allowing a valuable by-product to continue being put to productive use.
