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“Animal Welfare is Part of a Good Society”

Monday 26 September 2011
Sefton Room, Adelphi Hotel, Ranlagh Place,
Liverpool L3 5UL.

Commencing with the reception at 6.30pm

Chair: Baroness Anita Gale, Vice-Chair LAWS

Speakers:

Mary Creagh MP Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. (DEFRA)

Kerry McCarthy MP Bristol East Shadow Economic Secretary

Baroness Angela Smith of Basildon Opposition Spokesperson for Energy and Climate Change

Michelle Thew BUAV Chief Executive British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection

Ian Cawsey WSPA Sponsors of the event, former Vice Chair,Labour Party, Animal Welfare

FREE ENTRY
Vegetarian and Vegan Buffet with wine and juice
(A cash bar also available)

For more information contact Wally Burley on 07833 664032 or at the Conference stand No 149.

This event has been kindly sponsored by World Society for the Protection of Animals. (WSPA).

The famous LAWS Karaoke will return this conference on Monday 26 September 2011,Sefotn Room, Adelphi Hotel, Ranlagh Place, Liverpool L3 5UL between 8.30pm to 1.00am.

All welcome – ability to sing not compulsory. Come and join the fun.

We shall be exhibiting as usual at this year’s Labour Party Annual Conference. If you are attending conference then please visit us on:

Our Stall – LAWS Stand No.149.

Mark Glover, Respect for Animals

Each year hundreds of thousands of seals are killed in countries such as Canada and Namibia for their fur and many of the products of these hunts are imported into the EU.

On 23 July 2008 the European Commission introduced a draft proposal to ban the import of and trade in seal products throughout the EU.

The seal campaign has been a priority for both LAWS and Respect for Animals and so this news was welcomed – with the condition that the ban will be watertight.

The Commission’s proposal is a fantastic step forward and could lead to a total ban on all seal products coming into the EU.

According to the Commission’s website; ‘The aim of the proposed law on seals is to ensure that products derived from seals killed and skinned in ways that cause pain, distress and suffering are not found on the European market. The proposal also recommends banning the trading of seal products throughout the European Union.’

However, the first draft of the proposal contains derogations (loopholes), which could allow the products from some hunts to still be traded. It is our view that all commercial seal hunts are inherently cruel and research shows that the people of Europe want the trade in all seal products banned – as whale products are banned. Such a ban is long overdue.

Much work still needs to be done to ensure that the final legislation is robust and that any loopholes are closed. The proposal is now in the hands of MEPs and the Council of Ministers.

Please write to your MEP asking them to support a TOTAL ban on all seal products and to reject any derogations that could end up legitimising some hunting practises.

It is very important that the UK throws its weight behind a complete ban on the trade in all seal products.

You can also raise the issue by writing to the UK Minister, urging him to support only a complete ban: Gareth Thomas MP, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, 1 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0ET.

Lorriane Barrett AM is a member of the Welsh Assembly.

It’s been a while since my last article in Impact; but as they say a week is a long time in politics – so as you can imagine there’s quite a bit to report.

We have seen some really positive developments on the Animal Welfare front. Notably, after campaigning for a ban on the use of electric shock collars I was delighted when, on 25th June this year, and after a detailed consultation period, the Minister announced a proposed ban on electronic training devices. This is a great step forwards in protecting animals from unnecessary harm.

The Animal Welfare Act came into force in Wales in March last year. As you know it’s the most significant piece of legislation for animal welfare for nearly a century, ensuring action is taken to prevent suffering before it actually happens. The Act devolves power to the Welsh Assembly Government to promote animal welfare, devise Codes of Practice and set up licensing systems.

The Act also offers myself and other elected members the opportunity to change and modernise existing policy and make it more relevant to Wales or to take a different route than the other respective UK administrations have chosen. I utilised this instrument almost immediately following the Act’s implementation, tabling an amendment to the Docking of Working Dogs’ Tails (Wales) Regulations 2007 which ensured that cross bred dogs will keep their tails and the pool of pure-bred dogs who can continue to have their tails docked has been reduced. This was a bit nail biting for me because it was the last sitting day before the Assembly Elections in 2007, and the last day of business for the second Assembly before it was granted new powers under the Government of Wales Act – and I was delighted to have the support of the Labour cabinet, which won us the day.

Unfortunately, it’s not all good news from Wales for Animal Welfare. In fact, one issue has dominated my attention, and newspaper columns, for quite some time. That is a “targeted cull” of badgers which has been announced as part of a plan in Wales to eradicate tuberculosis in cattle. The location of the area and details of the cull have yet to be decided, but we know that the wide-scale area will have manmade or hard boundaries and that every badger within will be systematically exterminated. The announcement sparked a 300 strong protest on the steps of the Senedd.

Bovine TB is a very serious condition for cattle and for cattle farmers, right across the UK. Extensive research has been undertaken on the issue, including a ten year independent inquiry commissioned by the UK Government which found that a badger cull would make “no meaningful contribution” to the control of TB and could in fact make matters worse.

In the republic of Ireland we have seen a systematic cull of badgers, virtually eliminating them from most areas, but that has failed to address the high incidences of Bovine TB there. What is needed is an effective and sustainable solution to tackle the disease – better animal husbandry and farming practices combined the best way to deal with it. A badger cull does not take account of the cyclical nature of the problem in wildlife more generally.

I have, of course, been rigorously campaigning against the proposal at any opportunity available, and I was delighted to hear that DEFRA Ministers had rejected a cull of badgers in England. Not surprisingly they instead stated that they were following scientific evidence and the recommendations of the Independent Scientific Group on TB in Cattle.

I tabled a Statement of Opinion in the Assembly calling on the Minister to rule out a cull in Wales, and to return to a scientific-evidence based approach to tackling Bovine TB and considering evidence on which the DEFRA Minister had made his decision. My colleague, Alun Michael MP – who represents the same constituency as me in the UK Parliament – tabled the equivalent, an Early Day Motion, in Westminster welcoming DEFRAs announcement and calling on Wales to re-examine their proposal to press ahead with a cull.

I am frankly embarrassed that Wales is proposing to go forward with a pointless, targeted cull. Aside from the animal welfare issues for both badgers and cattle, a cull is an unforgivable waste of money and time.

I’m continuing to campaign on this, and I know that I have the support of the majority of Labour ‘backbenchers’ which I hope will give us a strong voice.

The All Party Group on Animal Welfare which I chair is continuing to work on a variety of issues; we recently achieved some substantial advances for greyhounds through the Greyhound Network Wales particularly for ex-race dogs. Work with this group is keeps going apace.

Wally Burley, LAWS

This is great news and the Labour Animal Welfare Society is delighted with the decision of Labour Minister, Hilary Benn. A decision we have been calling for over a long period of time.

Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment, told the House of Commons that even large scale culling of badgers only produced “marginal benefits” and that whilst a prolonged cull over even larger areas “might work, it might also not work”. He therefore concluded; “I do not think that it would be right to take this risk”.

Trevor Lawson, for the Badger Trust, said, “We are delighted that Hilary Benn has based his decision on sound science. The Government and the farming industry can now move forward together in controlling the disease in a way which supports rather than harms the industry. Eradication is a long way off, but the science clearly shows that control is rapidly within our grasp, provided that the farming unions are prepared to work towards it”.

However, the Badger Trust criticised Conservative spokesman James Paice MP for claiming that Mr Benn had gone against the advice of the scientists and for claiming that PCR – the Polymerase Chain Reaction – could be used to “target” diseased badgers.

Trevor Lawson said, “The Secretary of State has not gone against the advice at all. It advised him that badger culling can make ‘no meaningful contribution’ to bovine TB control. Furthermore, Mr Paice should be well aware, because we showed him the research paper on 31 January 2006, that the Veterinary Laboratories Agency has ruled out PCR as an effective test for TB in badgers. This test is even ruled out by the researchers who have been working on it, including Dr Orin Courtenay at the University of Warwick who tells the Badger Trust that ‘the application of this technology could only really be used for detecting BCG after a vaccine trial’.

“Mr Paice appears not to have grasped the scientific evidence and it is lamentable that he seems so determined to kill badgers in spite of the overwhelming evidence that this will not help the situation.”
SHADOW Agriculture Minister James Paice MP has accused Hilary Benn of a ‘complete failure’ to address the problem of bovine TB. Speaking at the Royal Show, he said the Tories would have been culling badgers for the ‘past two or three years’ as the evidence is, this is the only way to curb the spread of the disease.

James Paice MP said, “If I was in his position, we would have been culling badgers for last two or three years anyway. We were culling badgers up to 1997 but as soon as Labour came in they stopped it, the incidence of Bovine TB has rocketed. Culling wasn’t curing it but at least it was keeping it under control.”

If the Conservatives’ are elected not only will they bring back Hunting with Dogs but it is also clear that they will condone the mass slaughter of Badgers.

Oliver Edwards

Many will be familiar with the phasing out of battery cages for hens; a culmination of much hard work by animal welfare charities. Moving away from the appalling ‘factory line’ conditions can only be a positive step. What fewer may be aware of is that over the next few years this welcome change will result in thousands of ex battery hens being released. The majority will sadly end up being killed but thanks to the efforts of the Devon based charity Battery Hen Welfare Trust, others will be given a new lease of life.

Having kept chickens in our garden over a number of years, they are surprisingly easy to look after and low maintenance. Our former brood of hens gradually died off one by one with age until only one elderly hen was left-Queen of her roost. We had read about the ex battery hens being released from a farm near Guildford and so this seemed like an ideal time to give them a home and some company for our elderly hen. Having gone through several checks, we went to the farm and collected three hens-all fairly scruffy and scrawny, with bad feathers. The first few days were filled with new experiences; being able to roam outdoors, soil, nest boxes and a perch, and the intrigue/fascination was incontainable. During this learning process, they discovered that laying eggs in a nest box is more comfortable than on a hard floor or wherever you happen to be standing, that those insects or ‘bits’ in the grass could be tasty and that sometimes food moves. Slowly they started copying ‘mother hen’ and as their leg muscles started to strengthen, they made it up on to the perch to join her at night. The improving weather has allowed them to discover the joys of a dust bath together, the intrigue that lies behind the gate to the garden should it be left open, or the taste of seaweed and shrimps on the nearby beach.

Each day continues to bring new experiences but watching them enjoy freedom and expanding their limitless curiosity is an endlessly worthwhile, even if they may only be three hens out of thousands. On a practical note, we have an endless supply of free range eggs which continue to improve from the sterile, artificial battery eggs they were intended before to produce for life. So if you have ever considered having chickens, there has never been a better time with the surplus numbers around at the moment and the thousands of hens currently being destroyed. They are not as difficult to look after as you might imagine and any extra space they have is an improvement upon the miserable conditions they have learned to take for granted. There has never been a better chance to watch the transformation from egg producing machines into the curious, lively, affectionate birds they can be.

To find out more, check out the website www.bhwt.org.uk or call 01362 822904.

Stop Press: 10,000 hens need re-homing from battery farm in Norfolk which is closing-down. If you would like a hen or two or know someone who would please contact littlehenrescue@googemail.com

Any not re-homed by 28 June will be slaughtered.

(You can bet this will be in the Tory Education Plans)

Article from The Daily Telegraph (15 May 2009) reported that the Countryside Alliance calls for children to be taught about blood sports.

It said that Hunting, shooting and fishing should be included in the national curriculum as part of a drive to educate children about the countryside, according to campaigners.

The Countryside Alliance believes children should be taught about every aspect of rural life, from food production to pest control, as well as being offered outdoor pursuits such as clay pigeon shooting, horse-riding and fishing. The lobby group is calling on the government to create a new subject area of outdoor education that children could be assessed on throughout school, including at GCSE level .Alternatively, schools could incorporate outdoor activities into other subjects, for example farm visits in geography, beekeeping in biology or even falconry to learn about weights in a maths class. It is part of a rural manifesto calling for affordable housing and improved services in rural areas, a repeal of the Hunting Act, more support for farmers and improved outdoor education in schools. Rob Gray, Campaigns Director of the Countryside Alliance, said children should be taught about traditional country sports like clay pigeon shooting and fishing and given the opportunity to take part. He also said they should be educated about hunting with dogs, even though it has been made illegal, by visiting kennels and finding out about the sport within the law.

“Whatever your view of it, hunting, shooting and fishing and country pursuits are part of the living working countryside in which hundreds of thousands of people take part and are employed,” he said. “We should not cherry pick just the cuddly bunny bits [of rural life], teachers and children should be able to get an insight into the what goes on in the countryside – from country pursuits to food production – and then make up their own minds.” However Christine Blower, General Secretary National Union of Teachers, said efforts to get more children enjoying the outdoors should be led by the teaching establishment rather than a pressure group. “The decision should be taken at school level with heads and teachers deciding the appropriateness of it,” she said.

Louise Robertson of the League Against Cruel Sports, said children should not be taught about blood sports. “We would not support encouraging young children to go out and shoot animals for fun,” she said. “I would much rather the school curriculum focuses on areas like maths and English.”

Labour Animal Welfare Society is opposed to the introduction of these proposals in Schools. However, it would not be surprising if the Tories win the next General Election that they would support this. They have already indicated that if they get into power they will repeal the Hunting with Dogs Act, and also Cull Badgers.

Chris Gale NEC member Labour Animal Welfare Society

The aim of the Bill is to create a framework to manage growing and competing demands for the use of marine resources in the seas around Scotland, balancing environmental and socio-economic considerations to maximise economic growth within sustainable environmental limits” the Bill will:

* Create a statutory marine planning framework with distinct national and regional structures;
* Facilitate streamlining of marine licensing and marine consents and therefore a reduction in regulatory burden;
* Contain provisions for the establishment of Marine Protected Areas and the introduction of Marine Conservation Orders as appropriate for the management of the Areas;
* Repeal the Conservation of Seals Act 1970 and introduce a license regime appropriate for the management of seals in Scottish waters;
* Provide for a range of common enforcement powers applicable to both the enforcement of licensing and conservation; and
* Contain provisions to allow the Scottish Ministers to make orders or regulations under the Act.

Rural Affairs and Environment Committee has issued a call for views, inviting individuals and interested parties to submit views on the Bill in writing. The Committee is interested to hear the views of all organisations, bodies and individuals on the proposals contained within the Bill and their likely impact. Comments do not have to cover all aspects of the Bill, only those proposals which are of interest or concern. The closing date for written submissions is Thursday 11 June 2009. Ideally submissions should not exceed four sides of A4. paper. The Committee expects to take oral evidence during May, June and September 2009.

We believe it is perfectly possible to protect farmed fish, without killing wildlife, including seals. Unfortunately, all too often a bullet is preferred as the cheaper option. It is important that members and organisations submit view which is opposed to the shooting of seals in Scotland .

For further information contact Andy Ottaway, The Seal Protection Action Group. Address: PO Box 2673, Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 5BZ, UK Tel: 01273 471403. The Seal Protection Action Group is a Scottish registered charity (SC017447) dedicated to protecting seals and their environment worldwide.