| ( _ /) 2008-02-24, 3:25 am |
| AGENDA FOR CHANGE
http://tinyurl.com/29aupr
Posted 22 February 2008
Prior to coming to power in 1997, Labour published a brochure called
New Labour: New Deal for Animals. Expectations were high, given the
multitude of welfare advances the document promised. There have been
some gains during the last 11 years - notably, a ban on hunting
(thanks to the staunchness of parliamentary backbenchers rather than
of the government itself); a voluntary agreement to prohibit the use
of animals for testing cosmetic products and ingredients; and an end
to fur farming in Britain. But these have been outweighed by the
setbacks - including a failure to enforce the hunting ban. There has
also been a massive increase in animal experimentation and the use of
public funds to bankroll it; a broken promise to initiate a Royal
Commission into the validity of animal research; inaction on live
exports; the continued financial and political support for ever more
extreme methods of farmed animal production; and the active promotion
of ‘gamebird’ production and shooting. Added to this is the
government’s unrelenting campaign to vilify and criminalise peaceful
animal protest.
We now learn that Gordon Brown has ordered one of Labour’s Deputy
Chairs, Ian Cawsey (an MP with a respectable animal welfare record),
to produce a revised version of New Deal for Animals. We recently met
with Mr Cawsey and followed up those discussions by sending him a copy
of our new policy statement that we call Agenda For Change. It is a
wide-ranging document, which details the fundamental shifts that
animal rights activists are looking for in the political, social and
economic domains. It is also calling for a range of legislative
initiatives that would make a world of difference to millions of
animals in the short to medium term. Agenda For Change speaks of the
plight of farmed animals; of those used in ‘scientific’ research; as
well as the victims of the sport, pet and leisure industries.
We don’t forget the political betrayals of past years and we recognise
that governments lag behind the public on animal welfare - moving only
when shoved. That is why Animal Aid concentrates on shifting the way
that ‘ordinary people’ think and act - by revelation, protest,
education, reasoned argument and by example. But we cannot give up on
the political process, because there always remains the hope of
genuine advances via that route.
Read Animal Aid's Agenda for Change
http://www.animalaid.org.uk/images/...daforChange.pdf
ANIMAL AID’S AGENDA FOR CHANGE
ABOUT ANIMAL AID
Animal Aid exposes and campaigns peacefully against all
animal cruelty, and promotes a cruelty-free lifestyle.
Towards those ends, we:
• Launch regular undercover investigations into factory farms,
gamebird rearing operations, the horse racing industry and livestock
markets
• Produce in-depth reports, factsheets and leaflets to support our
campaigns
• Lobby politicians
• Send out thousands of free information packs
• Provide teaching resources free of charge to schools across the
country
• Train volunteer school speakers who talk in around 300 schools each
year
• Campaign online though viral films, podcasts and networking websites
• Stage Britain’s leading annual cruelty-free Christmas fair
• Offer a large range of ethical mail order goods including
toiletries, clothes, chocolates and books through our online shop
OUR POLICY
FOOD
Animal Aid opposes the production and trading of animals so that they
can be used for milk or eggs, or killed for meat. Instead, we promote
a diet free from animal products. Such a diet, apart from being
animal-friendly, is healthier, less damaging to the environment and
more energy, land, labour and water efficient.
CLOTHING
It is no longer necessary to exploit animals for their skins, fur or
wool. There are a great many affordable, durable, fashionable, warm,
waterproof and otherwise attractive materials that can and are being
used for clothing and shoes. We encourage the development of the trend
towards cruelty-free clothing.
VIVISECTION
We want to see an end to all laboratory research on animals because
such research is both cruel and scientifically unreliable. Resources
should be directed towards the increasing number of superior,
non-animal research methods. These include cell and tissue cultures,
computer simulations, scanners, microdose tests and the use of
microarrays and microfluidics. Millions of animals every year in
Britain are confined in stressful conditions and subjected to often
painful and ultimately lethal ‘safety tests’ and disease research. Our
expanding knowledge of the cognitive and emotional sentience of
nonhuman animals, and their ability to suffer, makes their use in
these ways increasingly unacceptable, whatever the postulated
benefits. Our moral objection, however, is buttressed by the
accumulating scientific evidence that so-called ‘animal models’ do not
generate data that can be reliably applied to human beings – whether
for safety testing or for understanding disease and moving towards
remedies. Vivisection, therefore, causes human ethical problems –
substantial evidence shows that millions of people have been harmed in
the past, and continue to be harmed, due to our reliance upon it.
LEISURE AND SPORT
We advocate the enjoyment of the many leisure and sporting activities
that do not involve animals being chased, goaded, hooked, shot,
snared, poisoned, made to perform tricks or confined for public
exhibition. This places us in opposition to gamebird shooting,
hunting, fishing, zoos, horse and dog racing and circuses with
animals.
PETS
We oppose the pet trade because it reduces animals to disposable
commodities. As with any other commodity, when the purchaser finds the
product tiresome, worn-out, old or inconvenient, that commodity is
often abandoned or destroyed. Hence, sanctuaries across Britain are
overflowing with unwanted animals. The benefits people obtain from
their pets are often cited as a reason to continue with the mass
breeding, wild capture and trading of animals. But what is it pet
animals gain from people? The uncomfortable truth is that the majority
are deprived of the ability to move freely and form social and family
groups and do the other things that would make their lives meaningful.
Birds are kept from flying; reptiles and fish are confined in glass
tanks; and hamsters, guinea pigs, rats and gerbils are boxed or caged.
At the bottom of countless gardens, rabbits are abandoned alone in
hutches. Horses are often kept stabled for numbingly long periods or
left to languish in fields. Most dogs do not receive adequate daily
exercise and many are kept confined all day alone, while their owners
go out to work. Some cats have a degree of autonomy over their lives
but even they may be turned out when no longer wanted.
‘CULLS’ OF WILDLIFE
A great many animal species have been labelled as pests, vermin,
predators or ‘aliens’ and are being shot, gassed, trapped, poisoned or
beaten to death. The list includes badgers, rats, grey squirrels,
ruddy ducks, mink, foxes, muntjac and other deer, hedgehogs, stoats,
weasels, seals, rabbits, magpies, Canada geese and cormorants.
Powerful interest groups (farmers, shooters, pest control
companies, ‘conservationists’ and foresters) insist that if animals
are not useful or profitable, then they must be ‘controlled’ and, in
some cases, eliminated as a species. At the heart of this project are
selfishness, avarice and intolerance.
ANIMAL RIGHTS
From the above, it can be seen that Animal Aid, in common with an
increasing number of people worldwide, is working towards a
fundamental shift in our relationship with animals. The move is away
from the presumption that animals exist to be exploited for our
convenience and pleasure – and towards a position of respect and
protection. In an increasingly ‘developed’, not to say polluted,world,
animals need to be granted the space and freedom to lead lives
unencumbered by human interference.
AGENDA FOR CHANGE
We recognise that the changes we work towards will not be achieved
overnight. But there is a great deal that can be accomplished in the
short to medium term through bold and imaginative government action.
We set out, below, an agenda for constructive change.
ANIMAL WELFARE ACT 2006
Key to any general improvement in the welfare of animals is for the
main provisions of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to be enforced
properly. These make it an offence to cause an animal to suffer
unnecessarily; and anyone responsible for an animal is required to
meet a Duty of Care.
The relevant sections of the Act are as follows:
4 (1) A person commits an offence if
(a) an act of his, or a failure of his to act, causes an animal to
suffer,
(b) he knew or ought reasonably to have known, that the act, or the
failure to act,
would have that effect or be likely to do so,
(c) the animal is a protected animal and
(d) the suffering is unnecessary.
9 (1) states:
A person commits an offence if he does not take such steps as are
reasonable in all the circumstances to ensure that the needs of an
animal for which he is responsible are met to the extent required by
good practice.
Those needs include:
9 (2) (e) ‘its need to be protected from pain, suffering, injury…’
FARMING
• All livestock farmers, drovers, and slaughterers to undergo
compulsory training in animal welfare Without an understanding of
animal welfare, workers in these jobs are likely to inflict avoidable
suffering on the animals they farm. A June 2007 Farm Animal Welfare
Council (FAWC) report on stockmanship presented a picture of
dramatically declining skills, with less than 1% of farm workers
taking up training and certification opportunities. It is an apathy
matched by the government and the livestock industry itself, whose
support for training – said the report - has ‘weakened considerably in
recent years’.
• A ban on cages for egg-laying hens
While the ban on the ‘standard’ battery cage is a welcome step
forward, the ‘enriched’ cage is not adequate to satisfy the basic
needs of hens.
• A ban on farrowing crates for sows
A week before the end of their sixteen and a half week pregnancy, sows
are moved into a farrowing crate - a barren metal and concrete
structure. It is just a few inches longer and wider than the sow
herself. Her newborn piglets must suckle from a small area known as a
‘creep’, adjacent to but separate from, their mother. The
justification for the use of the farrowing crate is that the sow might
otherwise crush her young. Research, however, shows that, ‘given the
right management’, piglets delivered in loose housing units are no
more likely to die than those born in farrowing crates.
• A ban on zero grazing, whereby animals, such as dairy cows and
goats are confined in sheds for all, or nearly all, of the year
The industry-promoted image of Daisy amongst the buttercups has long
been false but now dairy farming has arrived at a critical new
juncture with the arrival of the almost permanently-confined ‘battery
cow’. Her fate is to eke out a short existence inside large sheds,
shared with hundreds of other cows. Each has a narrow metal-barred
stall. They are moved two or three times a day to the automated
milking unit. Some operations also have covered 'loafing' yards. It is
the cow equivalent of battery hen production – a system now widely
recognised as being inhumane. Goats’ milk and cheese are being
marketed as sophisticated, humane alternatives to dairy products from
cows. But Animal Aid’s 2007 undercover visits to farms supplying
leading supermarkets revealed scenes of inexcusable squalour and
cruelty. At one farm, a mother lay dead in the dirt with a bullet in
her head, her newborn kid huddled beside her body. A second
shot goat lay alongside the pair. Many of the goats we filmed had
grotesquely distended udders, which left them unable to walk or stand
properly.
SLAUGHTER
• An end to the piece-rate system of payment for slaughterhouse
workers Payment by piece-rate rewards speed and corner-cutting, to the
inevitable detriment of animal welfare.
TRANSPORTATION
• A ban on the export of live animals and a maximum journey time of
eight hours for all animals Animals suffer considerable distress and
discomfort in transit and many die.
Currently, animals are being shipped live from the UK to continental
Europe with legal journey times for calves and lambs lasting up to 21
hours with a break of just one hour. Pigs can be transported non-stop
for 24 hours and sheep and cattle for 31 hours, with a one-hour pause.
ANIMAL EXPERIMENTS
• An independent evaluation into the scientific efficacy of safety
testing and disease research using animals
The efficacy of the animal model has never been objectively,
scientifically and transparently evaluated. Animal welfare issues
aside, this deficiency poses major problems for human health and
safety. 250 MPs signed an Early Day Motion calling for just such an
enquiry and 83 per cent of GPs have said they would support this.
• A ban on the use of all primates in experiments
It is now the official position of the European Parliament to seek a
ban on the use of wild-caught monkeys and great apes, as well as to
phase out the laboratory use of all primates. This follows the
powerful support shown by MEPs for Written Declaration 40/2007 (signed
by 433). 150 British MPs also support a ban – on both moral and
scientific grounds (EDM 1704). And a demand for a primate research ban
is also embodied in the Berlin Declaration, which was launched in 2005
and endorsed by 95 animal protection agencies around the world, plus
leading academics and public figures.
• A ban on using animals in weapons testing
Before coming to power this government stated: ‘It is Labour policy to
forbid the use of animals in the testing and development of weapons.’
Since then the use of animals in weapons research has tripled.
WILDLIFE
• The government should not authorise a badger ‘cull’
Bovine TB is a problem created by intensive farming conditions. The
public overwhelmingly opposes a cull and the Independent Scientific
Group that spent a decade assessing the potential value of a cull
reported that there was no case for one – and that it could make
matters worse. TB, its chairman reported, probably first spreads from
cattle to badgers.
• An end to all government sponsored wildlife ‘culls’
Governments have promoted or endorsed the killing of many species,
including the ruddy duck, grey squirrel, deer and Lundy rat. Wild
animals are already suffering extreme and unending pressure as a
result of road and building development, climate change, pollution,
etc. Where animals are deemed to cause problems, humane, non-lethal
methods of population management must be employed.
CIRCUSES
• A ban on the use of animals in circuses
There is a wealth of documentary evidence, produced by Animal
Defenders International, Captive Animals’ Protection Society and
others, demonstrating that circuses impose too great a welfare burden
on animals – whether wild or domesticated. Animals suffer high levels
of stress during training, travel and confinement and while
performing.
BLOODSPORTS
• A ban on the production of gamebirds for ‘sport’ shooting
Thirty-five million pheasants and more than six million partridges are
massproduced every year so that they can be shot for sport. Wildlife
around the rearing sites and on shooting grounds is exterminated.
• As a matter or urgency, a ban on the battery cage system of rearing
pheasants and partridges
Battery cages (also known as raised laying units) for breeding
pheasants and partridges – whether or not they are ‘enriched’ – are
indefensible in terms of the welfare burden that they place upon the
birds.
• Ensure that those involved in the business of rearing and shooting
birds for sport pay their due taxes and non-domestic rates
There is a wealth of evidence demonstrating that the industry deprives
the public purse of millions of pounds in unpaid rates and VAT.
• A proper commitment must be made and appropriate resources
allocated to enforce the ban on fox hunting
Foxes continue to be chased and mauled to death, and many peaceful
monitors have been physically assaulted.
HORSE RACING
• The publication of comprehensive data on equine mortality, sickness
and injury
No comprehensive, reliable data is published by the racing industry.
Given the degree of self-regulation the industry enjoys, it should be
obliged to produce a full annual audit.
• A ban on the whip
The use of the whip in horse racing is cruel. The law does not allow
any other
animal in Britain to be routinely beaten. The whip is banned in
Norway.
• A proper fund to be established for retired Thoroughbreds
Around 5,000 horses come to the end of their racing career each year.
Current industry provision for them is woefully inadequate. Only a
small number are granted a decent retirement. The fate of the majority
is to pass from owner to owner, with many ending up at a
slaughterhouse or knacker’s yard. Everybody involved in equine
breeding, owning or trading should be made to uphold their duty of
care to these animals.
• An independent audit of all racecourses
An independent audit should be commissioned in order to determine what
immediate steps can be taken to reduce equine mortality and injury.
• A ban on the Grand National
The Grand National is a deliberately punishing and hazardous race.
Equine deaths at the event remain routine.
IMPORTATION OF ANIMAL PRODUCTS
• A ban on the importation of animal products, whose methods of
production have been prohibited in Britain because they impose too
great a welfare burden on animals
This includes foie gras and all fur products and pelts derived from
farmed animals.
PET TRADE
• Breeders and sellers to take responsibility for the animals they
sell
Anyone selling, breeding or dealing in ‘pet’ animals should be levied
a fixed proportion of their income in support of sanctuaries. While
breeders make money, sanctuaries are forced to rely on donations.
Breeders should accept responsibility and make financial provision for
the animals they create.
• Any business selling animals that requires a licence to do so should
have to conduct mandatory home checks, which will be carried out by
independent inspectors
Breeders, pet shops and farms do not routinely conduct home checks
and,as a result, many animals are sold to inappropriate homes and end
up either suffering or being dumped at sanctuaries
• A ban on the sale of non-domesticated animals
Pet shops are increasingly selling non-domesticated animals including
monkeys, African hedgehogs, iguanas and snakes. Although these animals
are captive bred, they remain wild and there is no home that could
replicate their natural habitat or sustain their needs.
CONCLUSION
We have set out in this document a series of measures that, if taken
forward by government, would significantly advance the cause of animal
welfare. Any such action, we feel confident, would be met with
widespread public support.
Animal Aid
The Old Chapel, Bradford Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1AW
Tel: 01732 364546
Fax: 01732 366533
www.animalaid.org.uk
Animal Abuse Injustice & Defence Society
Registered in the UK. Company no. 1787309
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