scholarly journals Brexit and Animal Protection: Legal and Political Context and a Framework to Assess Impacts on Animal Welfare

Animals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven McCulloch
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Conservative Party ◽  
Political Support ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Animal Protection ◽  
Protection Policy ◽  
The Uk

The British people voted to leave the European Union (EU) in a 2016 referendum. The United Kingdom (UK) has been a member of the EU since the Maastricht Treaty was signed in 1993 and before that a member of the European Communities (EC) since 1973. EU animal health and welfare regulations and directives have had a major impact on UK animal protection policy. Similarly, the UK has had a substantial impact on EU animal protection. Brexit represents a substantial political upheaval for animal protection policy, with the potential to impact animal welfare in the UK, EU and internationally. Brexit’s impact on farmed animals will determine the overall impact of Brexit on animals. A major threat to animal welfare is from importing lower welfare products. A major opportunity is reform of UK agricultural policy to reward high welfare outside the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). A soft Brexit, in which the UK remains in the single market and/or customs union, mitigates the threat of importing lower welfare products. A harder Brexit means threats to animal welfare are more likely to materialise. Whether threats and opportunities do materialise will depend on political considerations including decisions of key political actors. The Conservative Government delivering Brexit has a problematic relationship with animal protection. Furthermore, Brexit represents a shift to the political right, which is not associated with progressive animal protection. There is significant political support in the Conservative Party for a hard Brexit. Further research is required to investigate whether the various threats and opportunities are likely to materialise.

scholarly journals Brexit and Animal Welfare Impact Assessment: Analysis of the Opportunities Brexit Presents for Animal Protection in the UK, EU, and Internationally

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 877
Author(s):  
Steven P. McCulloch
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
Welfare Impact ◽  
Animal Protection ◽  
Radical Reform ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Foie Gras ◽  
The Eu

The British people voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the European Union (EU). Brexit presents threats and opportunities to animal protection in the United Kingdom (UK), the EU, and internationally. This paper discusses opportunities for animal protection in terms of five criteria. These are first, political context; second, regulatory changes; third, economic and trade factors; fourth, institutional- and capacity-related factors; and fifth, EU and international considerations. Brexit permits reform of UK agricultural policy outside of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to reward high welfare as a public good. The Agriculture Bill, however, does not suggest a radical reform agenda for animal welfare. Brexit permits a ban on live exports, but the UK Government is consulting on improving welfare, not prohibition. Brexit provides an opportunity to ban the import and sale of fur, but the UK Government has signalled it will work to improve welfare in fur farming. Brexit permits the UK to prohibit the import and sale of foie gras, but the Government has stated a ban may be challenged at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Brexit allows more stringent Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) requirements to reduce puppy smuggling. Lucy’s Law and stricter enforcement will also mitigate the problem. New sentience legislation provides the opportunity for a fully independent and properly constituted UK Animal Welfare Advisory body conducting animal welfare impact assessments and ethical appraisal. The Government has proposed sentience legislation but there is a major risk it will not be in place before the UK leaves the EU. The Government has expanded the remit of the Farm Animal Welfare Committee, which is not fully independent and is dominated by veterinary members and agricultural interests. Brexit provides some opportunities for animal protection with radical reform of agricultural policy, prohibition of live exports, and banning the import and sale of fur and foie gras. Pre-Brexit, the Government has not demonstrated the political will and commitment to realise these opportunities.

scholarly journals Brexit and Animal Welfare Impact Assessment: Analysis of the Threats Brexit Poses to Animal Protection in the UK, EU and Internationally

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven McCulloch
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Resource Constraints ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Welfare Impact ◽  
Animal Protection ◽  
Substantial Risk ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

The British people voted in a 2016 referendum to leave the European Union (EU). Brexit presents both threats and opportunities to animal protection in the United Kingdom (UK), EU and internationally. This paper discusses threats to animal protection in terms of five criteria. These are first, political context; second, regulatory changes; third, economic and trade factors; fourth, institutional and capacity-related factors; and fifth, EU and international considerations. The EU has the most progressive animal welfare laws in the world. The Conservative Government delivering Brexit has a mixed record on animal protection. Major time and resource constraints inherent in Brexit risk negatively impacting animal protection. Brexit is projected to have a negative economic impact, which is generally associated with lower animal welfare standards. The development of Brexit policy suggests there to be a substantial risk that the major threat of importing lower welfare products to the UK will materialise. Brexit will reduce the political influence of the progressive animal protection lobby in the EU. Post-Brexit, the politically and economically weakened EU and UK risks a detrimental impact on animal protection on an international scale. Brexit poses substantial threats to animal protection, with a high risk that many threats will materialise. Further research is needed to assess the opportunities presented by Brexit to judge whether Brexit will be overall positive or negative for animal protection.

The Scottish Conservatives and Europe: The Reluctant Brexit Party

2020 ◽  
pp. 169-181
Author(s):  
Anthony Salamone
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Conservative Party ◽  
Political Context ◽  
The European Union ◽  
House Of Commons ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
Four Dimensions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

As Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson was a prominent campaigner for a ‘Remain’ vote in the European Union referendum of June 2016. Following the 2017 general election, meanwhile, Davidson repositioned herself as someone who could – aided by 13 Scottish Tory MPs in the House of Commons – influence the Brexit negotiations and nudge the UK Conservative Party towards a ‘soft’ rather than ‘hard’ deal with the EU. This chapter considers the impact of Brexit on the Scottish Conservatives during the leadership of Ruth Davidson in four dimensions: Brexit’s distinct Scottish political context, its electoral consequences, the conduct of Brexit within the UK, and the Brexit negotiations themselves. It concludes with reflections on the future prospects for the Scottish party in light of all four dimensions.

ANIMAL TRAPS - EU AND NATIONAL REGULATIONS WITH SPECIFIC EMPHASIS ON THE AGREEMENT ON INTERNATIONAL NORMS OF HUMANE ANIMAL CAPTURE

2018 ◽  
Vol VIII (z. 2) ◽  
pp. 123-137
Author(s):  
Magdalena Micińska
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Wild Animals ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Animal Protection ◽  
Eu Legislation ◽  
Legal Situation ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Russian Federation

Animal traps have always accompanied man, with whom the primary people organized the first hunts. Along with the development of hunting art, traps gradually gave way to specialized hunting weapons. However, the use of animal traps on a large scale still occurs in countries that are world exporters of fur and skins of wild animals - Canada, Russia and the USA. Driven by expressed in art. 13 TFEU with the principle of animal welfare, the European Union has introduced a number of regulations to ensure humane catches in member countries as well as in third countries exporting skin and fur. The purpose of this article is to analyze the current legal situation in Poland with regard to the implementation of EU legislation on humane trap standards, with particular regard to the obligations contained in the agreement concluded between the European Community, Canada and the Russian Federation on 22 July 1997 - on international humane trapping standards . Keywords - EU, Poland, Russia, Canada, USA, animal welfare, humane animal protection, snare, poaching, animal species protection, hunting, animal traps, hunting, trapping, hunting law.

scholarly journals RE-EVALUATION OF ANIMAL PROTECTION BY THE FINNISH ANIMAL RIGHTS LAWYERS SOCIETY

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-142
Author(s):  
BIRGITTA WAHLBERG
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Animal Protection ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Protection Legislation ◽  
Sentient Beings

The recognition of animals as sentient beings in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) gave rise to expectations as to real concern and care for animal welfare and a balance of human-animal interests. However, both the EU-legislation and the Finnish animal protection legislation is based on an animal welfare paradigm, meaning that animals have a weak legal status compared to humans that makes it impossible to de facto balance human and animal needs and interests in an effective manner from an animal point of view. The weak legal status of animals in the hierarchy of norms in the Finnish legal system contributes to the continuation of the oppression and exploitation of animals. The Finnish Animal Rights Lawyers Society have therefore made a proposal to strengthen animals’ legal status by including animals in the Finnish Constitution (FC) by safeguarding animals’ certain fundamental rights, thereby providing tools for balancing of human-animals interests. This article focuses on the re-evaluation of animal protection from an animal and constitutional point of view.

Chinese animal protection laws and the globalisation of welfare norms

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yangzi Sima ◽  
Siobhan O'Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
The West ◽  
Animal Protection ◽  
Protection Policy ◽  
The Law ◽  
Western Experience ◽  
Policy Elites

AbstractThis paper examines China's emerging animal anti-cruelty law and the extent to which it meets established animal welfare norms or not. Features that render the draft laws distinctly Chinese include the restrictive interpretation of cruelty as deliberate abuse, stringent pet control stipulations, and compromises on the consumption of dogs and cats. Meanwhile, the draft laws also reflect the Western experience. Animals are categorised according to their use; the ‘unnecessary suffering’ concept is the central philosophical tenet; and the enactment of the law will certainly result from strategic, pragmatic compromise. We conclude that 200 years of animal protection policy-making, the involvement of policy elites in drafting the Chinese laws, and the globalisation of trade, have made it difficult for China to do anything other than develop an animal protection regime broadly consistent with what exists in the West, although some unique Chinese features can also be identified in the proposed laws.

Report on primate supply for biomedical scientific work in the UK

1997 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 289-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Owen ◽  
C. Thomas ◽  
P. West ◽  
S. Wolfensohn ◽  
M. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Rhesus Macaques ◽  
Working Party ◽  
Scientific Work ◽  
Natural Source ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Cynomolgus Macaques ◽  
Alternative Means ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Source Countries

A Working Party of the UK group of European Primate Resources Network (EUPREN) considered primate supply for scientific work in the UK. Through a questionnaire, which achieved a very good response, it obtained details of primate use, sources and breeding in the UK and it put forward options to ensure that animal welfare is the best possible whilst ensuring continued supply. The questionnaire showed that contract research laboratories and pharmaceutical companies use about 80% of the 4233 primates used annually at the moment, with the rest accounted for by academic establishments and public sector laboratories. Fifty-four per cent are cynomolgus macaques ( Macaca fascicularis), of which nearly 90% are captive-bred outside the European Union (EU), the remainder being bred in the UK. Nearly 90% of cynomolgus macaques are used by only five institutions. Thirty-seven per cent of primates used are marmosets ( Callithrix jacchus jacchus), all of which are bred in the UK. Most of the rest are rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta), about half of which are captive-bred outside the EU, the other half being bred in the UK. Overall primate use has increased from about 3000 per year in 1990 and users predict that requirements for all species except baboons ( Papio sp.) will be maintained or increase. Marmoset breeding in the UK is already closely matched to use, and it could be increased reasonably easily if necessary. Some of the existing breeding centres of macaques in the UK would be prepared to consider expanding to supply others, although investment and imported breeding stock would be needed and it is likely that a large investment would be needed to breed a significant fraction of the macaque use in the UK. A further problem is that the users of only about 10% of the cynomolgus macaques said that they could replace this species by rhesus macaques, which are easier to breed in the UK. The questionnaire showed that much of the use of macaques would be transferred to other countries equally remote from the natural source countries of the animals, if constraints on primate use became more severe in the UK. Users felt that it is unlikely that much of the work could be transferred to the natural source countries themselves. A review of the literature revealed a paucity of information on the effects of transport on primate welfare. The importance of obtaining this information before making decisions about alternative means of supply is stressed. Current schemes for the accreditation of primate breeders were reviewed. A list of options is presented for discussion. Users vary so much in their requirements that it is unlikely that one means of supply will be applicable to all. Animal welfare will benefit and supply will be more certain if cooperation between those concerned (preferably through the UK group of EUPREN) is maintained.

scholarly journals The three pillars of applied farm animal welfare

2021 ◽  
pp. 14-14
Author(s):  
Miroslav Kjosevski ◽  
Martin Nikolovski ◽  
Ksenija Ilievska ◽  
Lazo Pendovski ◽  
Vlatko Ilieski
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Farm Animal Welfare ◽  
Product Price ◽  
Implementation Level ◽  
The Impact

There is an evident difference in the implementation level of animal welfare (AW) across the societies and countries worldwide. Although multiple factors contribute to these differences, we can summarize them into a three pillar concept, the three aspects of applied farm AW. The objective of this review is to analyse applied AW on farms from the ethical, economic and animal health aspects. Modern ethics emphasizes biocentrism against anthropocentrism, the modern ethical concept of bioethics. Additionally, beside the differences among the major ethical concepts, there is a consensus that AW deserves a respectful place. An animal?s economic value is not only limited by its material value determined by the inputs and outputs. Thus, rather than being simply considered as a ?stock-good? machine, animals are valued as a sentient beings with ?added value?, which has an impact on the final product price. Animal health and welfare are interconnected and are based on the impact of AW on health and vice versa. The implementation of higher welfare standards to farm animals is only possible if AW is accepted as part of the health of the animal. The applicability of this concept is presented through the European Union AW legislation, which is based on public opinion, economy and animal health. As a conclusion, applied AW is possible only at the level at which the three pillars are equally balanced, and the initiatives in this field should work and be focused on ethics, economics and health.

scholarly journals “HOW GRAND IS OUR DESIGN FOR EUROPE?”: INTEGRATION PLANS OF THE GREAT BRITAIN IN THE LATE OF 1950S

2016 ◽  
pp. 58-68
Author(s):  
E. V. Khakhalkina
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
European Economic Community ◽  
Conservative Party ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Supranational Integration ◽  
The Uk

The UK European Union membership referendum 2016 and its results actualized the study of the British initiatives in the sphere of integration before the entry into the European Economic Community in 1973. The article is devoted to the little-known in Russian historiography "Grand Design"of H. Macmillan, nominated in the wake of the failure of the Suez operation against Egypt in 1956. Plan with such bright and eye-catching name suggested the creation of a broad integration group in Europe as alternative with Britain as a leader to the preparing for the establishment of projects of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic energy community. The project was designed to restore the prestige of the Conservative Party and to strengthen the shaky position of Britain in NATO and European affairs after Suez Crisis. At the same time the emergence of the plan reflected the desire of the Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan to weaken the struggle inside political establishment between supporters and opponents of the country's full-fledged participation in the European integration and take the lead in the integration movement from France. Analysis of the content of the project and attempts to implement it within the framework of a Free Trade Area (FTA) reveals the essence of the "special position" of the UK towards supranational integration and the British vision of the future of European integration. Modern United Kingdom appeared in the new European realities after the Referendum on the country’s membership in the European Union and returns to the starting point on the path of supranational integration and to the search for its place in Europe. In these circumstances, the ideas expressed by British politicians more than half a century ago, may again prove to be demanded and relevant.

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