The process of building a new governmental authority based on public demands for improved animal welfare

Sweden has a long history of detailed and progressive legislation related to animal welfare for laboratory, farm and companion animals. Previously, these issues have been the responsibility of the Swedish Board of Agriculture (SBA). As a growing proportion of the public opinion and the political establishment felt that the animal welfare related issues were not given proper attention at the SBA, a political decision was recently made to separate animal housing, management and welfare from the SBA and create an independent Animal Welfare Agency. This Agency was formally launched on January 1st 2004. The government has commissioned the Agency to improve animal welfare by evaluating, enforcing and developing legislation. The agency should consider scientific evidence when writing new legislation. Also, the Agency incorporates an external Animal Welfare Council, which, among other things, discusses ethical aspects in relation to existing or proposed legislature. The new Agency must deal with a diversity of public expectations. Animal rights groups have high expectations regarding new and stricter legislation, for example related to fur animals, while some farmers fear that production aspects may be completely lost in discussions about improving welfare standards for farm animals.     

The role of councils on animal ethics in assessing acceptable welfare standards in agriculture

The way production animals are treated is a matter of public concern, and public opinion is often a driving force to introduce new animal welfare legislation. In Norway, a Council on Animal Ethics has been appointed by the authorities since 1993. The composition of the council is broad and it encounters both lay people and experts. The council is independent and advisory, only. It shall be a “guard dog” and follow the developments in animal production and other areas where man makes use of animals, and give advice to the authorities on the need for change in legislation and administrative practices. An important task for the council is also to contribute to and facilitate an informed public debate on animal welfare standards and animal ethics.     

Tamworth ND alert - source under close surveillance

Governments, industry and community groups in Australia are jointly developing a national strategy for animal welfare. This will provide for improved national approaches and help in formulating international animal welfare standards. The strategy will recognise the point that animal welfare concerns the humane use and care of animals and is of concern to the community. Animal welfare is a significant issue for the veterinary profession, as the community expects veterinarians to fill a special role in alleviating animal suffering and pain. Many expectations and concerns influence the development of animal welfare standards. Established processes provide well-defined roles for national bodies such as the Animal Welfare Committee (of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Resource Management) and the National Consultative Committee for Animal Welfare.     

Voluntary testing procedures of farm animal housing equipment according to the Animal Welfare Act of 1998]

Before its broad application in practice, housing equipment should be tested, in particular with regard to animal welfare. The differing positions of the German Federal Council (Bundesrat) and the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag), whether such testing should be mandatory or voluntary, have been conciliated in the amended animal welfare act by empowering the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries (BML) to fix official standards for voluntary testing procedures by regulation. On request of the BML, a report as scientific basis for a draft regulation is currently prepared by the scientific animal welfare committee of the German Agricultural Society (DLG). The scientific animal welfare committee has been appointed by the DLG in order to provide support in the effort to strengthen animal welfare aspects in the DLG-utility testing procedure of housing equipment, which is in place since 1953. The committee elaborates standards concerning testing methods, assessment criteria and the necessary size of investigations. As required, the scientific animal welfare committee may support the DLG-testing bodies in the implementation of the animal welfare part of the testing procedure. It will, moreover, be involved in the welfare assessment based on the testing results. The amendments of the already established testing procedure will help to fulfill the general requirements on an acceptable animal welfare testing procedure. While keeping in mind that there are certain limits in what can be achieved by a voluntary testing procedure, the enhanced consideration of animal welfare aspects within the DLG-utility testing procedure has the advantage to be relatively unbureaucratic and in line with EU legislation, and is, therefore, an appropriate tool for a contibrution to improved animal welfare in livestock housing.     

Development of the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for the Land Transport of Livestock: Process and philosophical considerations

The development of the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for the Land Transport of Livestock (known as Land Transport Standards and Guidelines) is the first in a series of projects to develop consistent animal welfare standards and guidelines in Australia. The project represents an evolution in the way in which animal welfare policy is developed in Australia. The standards will be the animal welfare requirements that must be met under law for livestock welfare purposes, and the guidelines are the recommended practices to achieve desirable animal welfare outcomes.The development work has been carried out under the auspices of the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy (AAWS). The project is part of the AAWS vision for national standards that are maintained and enforced in a consistent, cost-effective manner and that reflect contemporary scientific knowledge, competent livestock husbandry, and mainstream community expectations. The development process for the standards and guidelines is laid out in a business plan that provides for effective and transparent stakeholder consultation and a public consultation period before final recommendations on the standards and guidelines are made to the government.This paper discusses the process and philosophies for development of the standards and guidelines and gives an overview of the content. After 6 reference group meetings, the Land Transport Standards and Guidelines went to public consultation on March 29, 2008 for a 60-day period. After revision, complete consensus was not achieved in 2 additional meetings; the major unresolved issue is the measures relating to the transport of bobby calves. An agreement has been reached to further examine the bobby calf situation, and the standards and guidelines have been recommended for government endorsement, which was expected in April 2009.     

动物园环境丰容与动物福利管理

环境丰容是我国动物园近十几年来新接触的概念。近年来,环境丰容逐渐地被引入到我国动物园的建设和管理中,我国动物园相继开展丰容的相关工作,并取得了一定的成效,是动物园工作中的一个热门话题。动物福利是动物的一种康乐状态。开展动物福利,对于人类、自然及社会的和谐发展有着重要的作用。要强化和完善我国的动物福利保护,必须明确动物福利的管理,确定有关的强制性法律规范,提高民众的动物福利意识。本文简要介绍了丰容原则、内容和动物福利的管理,为动物园今后更好地开展环境丰容的相关工作和如何提高动物福利的问题提供借鉴。     

"Concepts in animal welfare": a syllabus in animal welfare science and ethics for veterinary schools

Public attitudes toward animal welfare have improved with growing social affluence, and veterinarians are increasingly expected to be informed about animal welfare in a broader sense than health alone. However, animal welfare has not been a traditional component of the veterinary curriculum. To help address this lack, the World Society for the Protection of Animals(WSPA) and the University of Bristol School of Veterinary Science launched the 'Concepts in Animal Welfare' syllabus in 2003. This comprehensive syllabus comprises seven core and 23 elective modules and covers a range of animal welfare issues, including farm and companion animal welfare, wildlife, and the use of animals in experiments. There are also modules on ethics and animal legislation. The syllabus is interactive, promotes critical analysis of issues from different angles, and may be adapted for use in any veterinary curriculum. WSPA provides training and workshops in developing countries and assists with the implementation of the syllabus.     

Board-invited review: the ethical and behavioral bases for farm animal welfare legislation

Concerns about farm animal welfare vary among individuals and societies. As people increasingly consider the values underlying current farm animal production methods, farm animal welfare policy debates have escalated. Recent food animal protection policies enacted in the European Union have fueled highly contentious discussions about the need for similar legislative activity in the United States. Policymakers and scientists in the United States are apprehensive about the scientific assessment, validation, and monitoring of animal welfare, as well as the unforeseen consequences of moving too hastily toward legislating farm animal welfare. The potential impact of such legislation on producers, food prices, animals, and concerned citizens must also be considered. Balancing the interests of all stakeholders has therefore presented a considerable challenge that has stymied US policymaking. In this review, we examine the roles of ethics and science in policy decisions, discuss how scientific knowledge relative to animal behavior has been incorporated into animal welfare policy, and identify opportunities for additional refinement of animal welfare science that may facilitate ethical and policy decisions about animal care.     

Effects of confinement and research needs to underpin welfare standards

Although there is no agreement on how to measure animal welfare, how to interpret some of the observed changes in behavior and physiology, and how much confinement of animals is acceptable, this has not stopped animal welfare standards from being set in the form of either voluntary or mandatory recommendations. Notwithstanding that there are gaps in knowledge about a number of farming practices, there is some emphasis by scientists, industry, politicians, and some animal welfare groups for any changes to welfare-related recommendations to be based on scientific evidence. This article discusses the related issues of confinement and its effects on farm animals, research gaps in the field of animal welfare, the development of welfare standards, and whether such standards should be underpinned by science. For some issues there is a general consensus, for example, that animals feel pain and have emotions and that animals' appearance and behavior are used by good farmers to recognize both the ‘normality’ and deviations from normal of their animals. However, these variables are difficult to measure or define. Nevertheless, if issues are considered important to animals' welfare, should difficulty of measurement or definition be a barrier to the creation of legislated standards? Thus, options for legislated standards include either comprehensive standards, some of which may be difficult to measure, similar to current legislation on cruelty to animals, or only a limited number of standards with targets that can be measured, some of which may have less relevance to welfare outcomes.     

Development of animal welfare legislation for the European Community

Animal welfare is of increasing importance for the European Community, which is reinforced by the Protocol to the EC Treaty on protection and welfare of animals. After the recent improvements to the legislation on the protection of pigs, the next priority for the Commission is the further development of the standards of animal transportation, particularly since a report of the Commission pointed out shortcomings in the enforcement of the existing rules in this area.     

Farm animal welfare: the five freedoms and the free market

This review addresses the scientific, ethical and economic factors that impact on the welfare of farm animals. Respect for animals within the food chain is considered within the context of an ethical matrix that affords respect according to the principles of wellbeing, autonomy and justice to consumers, farm animals, farmers and the living environment. The welfare of a farm animal depends on its ability to sustain fitness and avoid suffering. The responsibility of the farmer is to make provision for good welfare through good husbandry; he cannot ensure good welfare. Improvements to farm animal welfare can only come about within the context of the forces that drive the free market. In essence, consumers need to afford a greater extrinsic value to farm animals. The costs to farmers of legislation to impose higher animal welfare standards are substantial but the cost to consumers can be very small. The responsibility is therefore on the consumer to convert an expressed desire for higher welfare standards into an effective demand. A promising route to encourage and fulfil this demand is through welfare-based quality assurance schemes with quality control ensured by independent audit. At present, audit protocols are based largely on identification of the elements of good husbandry. Ultimately we need a further independent audit to ensure that the outcome of these perceived elements of good husbandry is, in fact, good animal welfare.     

Practical experiences with the new guidelines "Animal Welfare Aspects for the Organization of Pet Markets"of the German Federal Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Affairs

Though being controversially discussed in the fore field the new guidelines "Animal Welfare Aspects for the Organization of Pet Markets" of the German Federal Ministry of Nutrition, Agriculture and Consumer Affairs create a standard supported by the main associations of both animal welfare activists and keepers of animals concerned by this subject. This standard was created as a means of achieving high animal welfare standards at these markets all over Germany. First practical experience with the guidelines show that their strict application can greatly improve conditions for the animals. It remains a challenge for the veterinary authorities however to develop inspection concepts for each market jointly with the organizer. Inspections at each event followed by appropriate executive measures further help to ensure conditions in accordance with German Animal Welfare legislation. Besides the opportunity of making conditions with the obligatory licence of pet merchants should be taken.     

Development of animal welfare standards for the livestock transport industry: process,challenges, and implementation

Commencing in 2007, a collaborative project to develop the ”National Animal Welfare Standards for the Livestock Transport Industry” (the Standards) was completed and the documentation was integrated with the existing industry quality assurance (QA) program, TruckCare. The project was the fifth in a series of 6 projects commencing from 1998, to develop industry-wide animal welfare standards and accompanying audit material for the livestock industries, including poultry, pork, dairy, meat processing, and saleyards. Three booklets covering animal welfare practice for the livestock transport industry were produced: a Standards Manual, a Working Manual, and Background Information and Rationale (Edge et al., 2007a, Edge et al., 2007b, Edge et al., 2007c). The documentation was designed to further both industry's and the community's expectations of the high levels of QA associated with livestock transport.Factors that influenced the need for the project include the increasing demand for sound, science-based animal welfare standards by customers for various markets (Blandford et al., 1999; Verbeke et al., 2000), the development of international guidelines (OIE, 2007), and in the near future in Australia, new legislative requirements that are currently being considered as part of the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy initiative, a national framework supported by all jurisdictions. The Standards were developed to underpin existing legislation, including the Model Codes of Practice, scientific literature where available, and current industry practice. The Standards were integrated with the existing industry QA program, TruckCare (2007), for industry to demonstrate animal welfare practices that underpin legislative and commercial standards. A management group comprising representatives from government, welfare organizations, industry, customer organizations, and other technical experts contributed to the development of the Standards by means of a consensus approach. The Standards were accompanied by implementation material to enable uptake within the livestock transport industry and for the delivery of assurance on animal welfare practice to government, customers, trading partners, and consumers. This paper describes the project to develop the national industry animal welfare Standards for livestock transport.     

Development, aims and status quo of the EU animal disease law

The development of EC legislation is outlined using swine fever and foot and mouth disease as an example, starting with the possibility of vaccinating against both animal diseases in the 1980s without substantially restricting trade with vaccinated animals or products of these animals, right up to a policy of non-vaccination with the realisation of the single market with significant restrictions on intra-Community trade if the option of an emergency vaccination were to be used.The restrictions associated with emergency vaccination are basically tantamount to a vaccination ban. To that extent, vaccination needs to be taken into consideration as an instrument of animal disease control under the EU animal health legislation currently being discussed, the aim being for vaccinated animals that have tested as virus-free to be able to be marketed without any restrictions. This will, however, only be possible if all stakeholders (EU, member states, World Organisation for Animal Health, industry, consumers) achieve a broad consensus.     

Alteration of the order on animal welfare in farmed animals sections: hen and pig husbandry

The authors report on the recent situation regarding the Animal Welfare Regulation of farmed Animals, which now has additional requirements for hen and pig husbandry, introduced by the amending regulation from 1st August 2006. In particular they describe, which parts of the Council Directive 91/630/EEC of 19th November 1991 with minimum standards for the protection of pigs is originally implemented and where the national legislation demands higher animal welfare standards.     

The importance of applied ethology for the execution of animal welfare legislation]

Applied ethology in general and farm animal ethology in particular have a great importance in connection with animal welfare regulations on a national and international level. They have through the legislation on animal welfare brought about important repercussions on housing of farm animals, wild animals and experimental animals in Switzerland. The animal welfare legislation has been a considerable boost to scientific research. The application of ethological knowledge in the legislation and in practice has indeed also its limits. The importance of applied ethology for animal welfare and for animal husbandry will still increase in future.     

Status of law-making on animal welfare

Since the last report there have been major revisions of laws and ordinances. Deliberations on rules of Community law were also continued. On national level, the Act on the Shoeing of Horses amending the Animal Welfare Act and amendments of animal welfare provisions as well as the Deregulation Act were prepared, some of which have meanwhile entered into force. At legislative level, the work on the ratification laws for the Council of Europe conventions (Strasbourg) was concluded in order to enable Germany to adopt the revisions.They include (1) the European Convention for the protection of animals used for experimental purposes and (2) the European Convention for the protection of animals during international transport. At the level of ordinances, the amendment and extension of the Animal Welfare -Farm Animal Husbandry Ordinance are of vital importance for the sections on pig farming and laying hen husbandry. Another section refers to the husbandry of fur animals, on which an ordinance has been submitted to the Bundesrat (German upper house of Parliament). Deliberations on this issue have been adjourned. Drafts of a circus register were prepared to amend the Animal Welfare Act and to adopt a separate ordinance, and they are being discussed with the federal states and associations. Previously,the rules of Community law in the area of animal welfare were adopted as EC directives which the member states had to transfer in national law. This was done by incorporating them into national laws or ordinances, with non-compliance having to be sanctioned. It is the member states' responsibility to establish sanctions. Yet the Commission has introduced a directly operative animal welfare legislation by adopting EC Regulation 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport. This means that a national implementation is not required. Nevertheless, the establishment of sanctions continues to be the responsibility of the member states. A special authorisation by the legislator is required to be able to impose sanctions based on directly applicable EC law. This is done via the already mentioned Act on the Shoeing of Horses and amendment. To establish sanctions for this Community legislation, a "Sanctions Ordinance" is currently being discussed by the different departments. This way, a link between directly applicable Community legislation and national sanctions is established. At EC level there are currently discussed (1) the "Animal Welfare Action Plan", (2) a draft directive laying down minimum rules for the protection of chickens kept for meat production and (3) preparations for a revision of the directive on the protection of animals used for experimental purposes have become known due to the preparation of a related impact assessment. At the level of international law, the Council of Europe has concluded its work on Annex A of the convention for the protection of animals used for experimental purposes. With regard to the European Convention for the protection of animals kept for farming purposes, the deliberations on fish and fattening rabbits are being continued. There is a discussion on the technical details of the Transport Convention. Since the first animal welfare conference of the International Office of epizootics (OlE) in February 2004 in Paris, two very comprehensive codes on slaughter of animals and on animal transport were adopted.The inclusion of further animal welfare issues into the OIE work programme will be discussed in the next future.     

家禽宰前致晕的进展:Ⅰ国际新标准

致晕(击晕、致昏)是家禽人道主义屠宰的关键环节,对动物福利、胴体及肉品质有着重大的影响。本文综述了世界动物卫生组织、欧盟、联合国粮农组织、美国和我国关于家禽致晕方法(电致晕、控制气体致晕、机械致晕)和关键参数的最新法规及标准,为我国家禽屠宰行业的生产、研究和立法提供参考。     

动物福利教育与兽医专业发展

动物福利教育是动物保护的基本内容,是动物福利立法的基础。我国传统的兽医专业并没有系统开展动物福利的教育,但随着兽医专业实践的新发展,兽医职业不仅限于动物的健康和保护,更期望实践高标准的动物福利。国际上越来越多的兽医专业本科及研究生教育开展动物福利教育课程,并且建立了一些福利组织。在兽医专业开展动物福利教育可促进兽医专业的国际化、职业化和社会化,加快动物福利立法的进程。     

The structure and regulation of the Irish equine industries: Links to considerations of equine welfare

The equine industries in Ireland are vibrant and growing. They are broadly classified into two sectors: Thoroughbred racing, and sports and leisure. This paper describes these sectors in terms of governance, education and training in equine welfare, and available data concerning horse numbers, identification, traceability and disposal. Animal welfare, and specifically equine welfare, has received increasing attention internationally. There is general acceptance of concepts such as animal needs and persons' responsibilities toward animals in their care, as expressed in the 'Five Freedoms'. As yet, little has been published on standards of equine welfare pertaining to Ireland, or on measures to address welfare issues here. This paper highlights the central role of horse identification and legal registration of ownership to safeguard the health and welfare of horses.