What does the General Election mean for .... Animal Welfare?
Thursday, 04, Mar 2010 09:53
The three main parties are busy handing out treats like the Easter Bunny in the lead up to the election but will their animal welfare policies turn out to be a hollow offering?
Animal Rights
The thorny issue of animal rights cannot be said to be a central issue in any of the three main political parties, in fact often it is treated as a sideshow which is best avoided. It is interesting that the only main party to publicly publish its policies on animal rights separately on its website is Labour (the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats refer to animal welfare and biodiversity only in their environmental policies).
Animal welfare groups won't take any perceived policy of evasiveness lying down. They want animal welfare to be central to policy development, and a joined-up approach adopted by government departments. Whichever party wins power at the next election will need a more cohesive approach to impress animal rights organisations than that put forward so far.
So what are the main policy concerns of the animal welfare organisations? And what would they like the three main parties to address in their forthcoming election pledges?
Status and Dangerous Dog Ownership
With a recent string of attacks by dangerous dogs receiving substantial column inches, it was hardly surprising that addressing the problem is a concern for many organisations. Some organisations are content with extra regulation, say on the sale of puppies in pet shops, while others want a complete rethink of the Dangerous Dogs Act. Many want the law revised to target irresponsible owners.
The Liberal Democrats' policies should be music to the ears of animal welfare organisations on this issue. They have pledged to reform dangerous dogs legislation so that it targets irresponsible owners and specific dangerous animals rather than breeds and have even promised to include a duty on owners to ensure that animals with known hereditary diseases are not used for breeding.
Labour have also pledged to take action to "get the scourge of weapon dogs off estates and streets and to make sure that people can properly manage their dogs" and say they will introduce measures to tackle the issue. The Conservatives did not submit any direct response to the issue to politics.co.uk.
Farm animal welfare
Compassionate farming is high on the wish list for most animal welfare organisations. The Conservatives gave the most comprehensive response to this area of policy. A Conservative spokesman said: "We have launched the 'honest food campaign' - supported by the RSPCA and Compassion in World Farming - which is calling for compulsory country of origin labelling on meat products so that only meat from animals kept to high animal welfare standards is labelled British." Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats have pledged to "bring an end to the two-tier regulation of animal welfare and environmental standards in food production by pressing for greater EU powers to check imports and requiring that labelling reflect these standards".
Caged animals and circuses
A prohibiting on the use of wild animals in circuses has steadily risen up the animal welfare agenda in recent years. The same goes for politics. A Labour spokesman told politics.co.uk the party was "currently consulting on the banning of cages for gamebirds and wild animals in circuses. We hope to make an announcement on both these measures before the general election". The Liberal Democrats are committed to ending the use of all animals in circuses except domestic dogs and horses.
Biodiversity and endangered species
Many animal welfare groups and academics consider the issue of biodiversity loss - species and habitat decline and extinction - to be the most important concern for whoever wins the next election. This was a big issue for the Conservatives, who are currently exploring the idea of conservation credits to help provide incentives for communities to invest in the natural environment. Labour and the Liberal Democrats did not specifically address the issue in their responses for this article.
Animal Testing
The controversial issue of animal testing still looms large as an election concern for many organisations. It is currently, and controversially, treated separately to other animal welfare issues, falling under the remit of the Home Office rather than Defra. Many groups want urgent reform of section 24 of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, so animal welfare organisations to use the Freedom of Information Act to gather information on experiments at research facilities.
The Liberal Democrats had the most unequivocal policy in this area, promising to end testing of household products, cosmetics and weapons on animals and, long term "to eliminate scientific procedures which cause animal's pain, suffering or distress".
The Conservatives have pledged to "replace animals in research with non-animal alternatives, reduce the number of animals in experiments and refine procedures to minimise suffering". Labour pointed to the fact that they have banned the testing of cosmetics, alcohol and tobacco on animals in the last ten years but did not make any specific election pledges in this area.
Whaling
Continuing the moratorium on commercial whaling is also high on the agenda for many animal welfare organisations. There is good news on this issue from all the main parties, who all express "firm opposition" to a resumption of commercial whaling.
Hunting
Although currently banned under law, David Cameron's promise to give MPs a free vote on whether to repeal the Hunting Act if the Tories win the election has re-envigorated the issue for many animal welfare organisations. Unsurprisingly, it does not play well.
The Conservatives did not respond to this issue when asked about their policies by politics.co.ukbut, unsurprisingly, their opponents were extremely keen to respond. A Labour spokesman said: "Five years ago, the Labour government banned fox hunting, stag hunting and hare coursing. We did that because there is no place for animal cruelty in a modern, civilised society. Making animals tear each other apart is cruelty, not sport. The Tories' plans to repeal the hunting ban shows that beneath their warm words the Tories' attitude to animal rights is completely inadequate. David Cameron's personal opposition to the hunting ban shows just how out of touch his party is."
Conclusion
In summary, the three main parties are all taking a completely different approach to the issue of animal welfare in the lead up to the election. While Labour may be the only one to have a dedicated policy page on their website, their tendency is to focus largely on past achievements and not make fresh pledges. Although these achievements are impressive, it remains to be seen whether track record will be enough. The Liberal Democrats turned out to have some winning policies but they weren't readily available. However, it is the Conservatives who are the biggest enigma - on the one hand they have promised to vote on overturning the hunting ban, while on the other hand they have some of the most robust policies on biodiversity, compassionate farming and illegal trades in animal parts.
One thing is for sure, animal welfare organisations will be extremely active in lobbying all the parties during this election campaign and with targeted policies and websites geared to mobilising their supporters they mean serious business.