Memorandum submitted by J Pritchard
PET MARKETS
I am writing to oppose the proposals to license
pet markets ("fairs") in Annex B of the Animal Welfare
Bill.
I have attended two local bird markets recently
and at both, what I understood to be conditions laid down by the
local authority were openly flouted. When I contacted the relevant
authorities, no one would attend to take enforcement action and
afterwards no action was taken (as far as I am aware) although
I had proof.
Licensing just does not seem to work, as there
are insufficient resources and/or a lack of interest in enforcement.
Furthermore enforcement is very much more difficult where traders
do not have fixed premises, but simply appear at the start of
the sale and disappear again at the end.
If you have ever attended bird fairs, especially
the larger ones, you will have seen that some of the traders are
well-meaning and responsible but others seem to have no interest
in the welfare of the birds that they are selling. I believe that
it is impossible in practice to ensure the welfare of any animals
sold or shown at this type of event and that the Bill, while containing
some very welcome provisions in other areas, is taking a retrogressive
step here.
In general enforcement of animal protection
legislation does not seem to be taken very seriously. (I could
give you many examples of this, especially where livestock markets
are concerned.) That is why events such as pet fairs that rely
on effective enforcement to ensure basic welfare requirements
are likely to produce a great deal of suffering for animals.
1 September 2004
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