Memorandum submitted by C Tomlinson
My MP has informed me that I can contribute
my views on the Animal Welfare Bill to your Committee. Briefly,
I ask you to consider:
Whilst generally I support the Bill, particularly
the aspects which give powers for preventative action to the RSPCA,
I am writing to ask you to amend the Bill to widen its scope so
that it clearly encompasses farm animals.
The Bill does a good job in updating legislation
relevant to domestic animals and is very much needed. However,
though more recent, our legislation to protect farm animals is
not adequate to prevent suffering.
The Bill could be amended very simply to extend
the principle of prevention of suffering to farm animals as well
as domestic. There are huge gaps in our legislation to protect
farm animals—for example, broiler chickens and the long-distance
transportation of live animals. We have no guarantee that EU legislation
will be adequate—clearly, it has failed in the case of live
transportation. The proposed 2005 review of battery cage use may
also threaten recent improvements in the law for battery hens.
Please act, now that you have the opportunity
to strengthen the law to protect farm animals as well as domestic.
19 September 2004
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