5 Animal issues
53. We have undertaken a series of inquiries on animal
issues over the course of this Parliament, focusing on the need
to ensure appropriate welfare standards for a range of species,
whether wild, domesticated or farmed.
VACCINATION AGAINST BOVINE TB
54. Tuberculosis in cattle is one of the biggest
challenges facing UK farming. Herds must be regularly tested and
infected cattle must be slaughtered. In 2012 alone it is estimated
that 1% of the dairy herd was slaughtered owing to bovine TB.
Amidst the controversy of methods to limit the spread of the disease
such as culling badgers, we inquired into the extent to which
vaccination of cattle and/or badgers might contribute to the control
and eradication of bovine TB.[85]
EU rules currently prohibit cattle vaccination, but Defra applied
in 2012 for in-principle marketing authorisation for a bovine
TB vaccine to protect cattle. Lengthy field trials are required
before the EU will consider amending current rules to allow vaccination
to take place. We urged the Government to do all it can to condense
the indicative 10-year timetable suggested by the European Commission.
We also noted that the vaccine would increase financial and administrative
burdens on the industry without immediately solving the problem
since vaccination cannot guarantee cattle will not become diseased,
nor can it help already-infected animals. Defra has stated that
before cattle vaccination field trials can be contemplated a better
'DIVA' test (to identify infected cattle among vaccinated cattle)
must be developed. The Department expects this to take a further
two years.[86]
55. An injectable vaccine for badgers has been available
since March 2010, but questions remain about its efficacy, and
further field research is required. For it to be effective a significant
number of badgers need to be trapped and vaccinated, over many
years. We called on the Government to continue to research methods
to determine whether badger social groups carry infection in order
to better target deployment of the vaccine and recommended Defra
produce a clear strategy for its use. Overall we concluded that
for too long the Government's strategy for dealing with bovine
TB had been reactive, following the spread of infection. The Government
needs a strategy that will jump ahead of infection: cattle vaccination
may allow it to do that in the future but for now increased bio-security
and rigorous movement controls are vital. It will be no good vaccinating
badgers to create a firewall against the spread of infection only
for it to be compromised by movement of infected cattle. We recommended
in our report on Defra performance in 2013-14 that Defra
clarifies its plans for badger culling from 2015 onwards, including
setting out any changes to improve effectiveness following the
failure of the Gloucestershire culling pilots to meet the licence
conditions for the minimum number of badgers removed. We also
urged continued monitoring and reporting on the effectiveness
of the badger culling pilots.[87]
A future Committee may wish to examine progress on methods
to limit the spread of bovine TB including the use of badger and
cattle vaccines and of culling.
DOG CONTROL AND WELFARE
56. The UK is said to be a nation of dog lovers,
with some 8 million canine pets, yet more than 100,000 strays
are found each year, incidence of cruelty and neglect has risen
and a large number of dogs are out of control due to the irresponsible
or deliberate actions of a minority of owners. We reported in
February 2013 on general Dog Control and Welfare issues,[88]
and, separately, conducted pre-legislative scrutiny on the dog
control measures to be incorporated in the Anti-social Behaviour,
Crime and Policing Act 2014.[89]
We were critical of inaction by successive governments. At the
time of our inquiry seven people, including five children, had
been killed by dogs since 2007 and this toll has since increased.
We urged action in several respects including the closing of the
loophole in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 so that a person whose
dog attacks someone in a private place would be subject to prosecution
in the same way that prosecution was possible for attacks in public
places. We welcomed the Government's inclusion of measures in
the Act to achieve this aim as well as measures in response to
our concerns that there must at the same time be appropriate protection
from prosecution for those whose dog attacks an intruder in their
home. We further welcomed the clause included in response to our
pre-legislative scrutiny to equate an attack on an assistance
dog, such as a guide dog, with an attack on a person.
57. Our report welcomed moves for compulsory microchipping
of puppies due to come into force in April 2016 but this is not
a panacea. The final dog control legislation has not incorporated
the Dog Control Notices which we considered would give law enforcers
the necessary specific powers to tackle aggressive dogs before
they injure people. Nor does it reflect the demands on local authority
dog warden services of dealing with growing numbers of stray animals
at a time of pressure on council budgets. We were also concerned
that the Government had missed a valuable opportunity to use new
legislation to link dog breeding and welfare issues with dog control
measures. Breeders may currently breed up to five litters a year
(equating possibly to some 40 puppies) without being licensed:
this should be reduced to two litters per year to limit the number
of poorly bred and reared puppies which can grow up to become
aggressive dogs. More needs to be done to stop the online sale
of puppies and to tackle the health problems linked to some poor
pedigree-breeding practices. Future Committee scrutiny could usefully
assess the extent to which the Government's approaches go far
enough or whether we now need the consolidated dog control and
welfare legislation for which we called.
HORSE WELFARE
58. Increasing concern from the National Farmers'
Union, the RSPCA and others about the welfare of horses kept on
open land led to us holding an evidence session on fly-grazing.[90]
The term describes the practice of leaving horses to graze on
public or private land without the permission of the owner or
occupier of the land. As well as contributing to poor horse welfare,
this can create social, economic and environmental problems in
affected communities. Additional issues of public safety may arise
if fly-grazed horses stray on to public highways or other hazardous
sites. Our evidence session raised public awareness of the problem
and explored possible solutions to what is perceived to be a growing
problem. Defra Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Lord de
Mauley, subsequently informed us that the Government supported
Julian Sturdy MP's Private Members' Bill on the Control of Horses
(England) 2014 which introduces several important changes to help
tackle fly-grazing.[91]
The Bill was passed by the House of Commons in January and it
includes proposals to shorten the time it takes to rescue abandoned
horses from over two weeks to just 96 hours. If passed, the measures
will extend the protection of the law to horses on private as
well as public land, and will also allow rescued horses to be
gifted to animal welfare sanctuaries for the first time.[92]
This is a positive outcome for horse welfare and we commend the
Government's approach.
WILD ANIMALS IN CIRCUSES
59. We scrutinised a draft Bill proposing a ban on
the use of wild animals in circuses, and recommended in July 2013
the less proscriptive approach of listing those animals that could
not be used rather than banning all use.[93]
The Government has not since advanced the draft Bill, although
Jim Fitzpatrick MP, coincidentally a member of the Committee,
has independently sought, albeit unsuccessfully, to progress it
as a Private Members' Bill.[94]
Few travelling circuses now include wild animals in their acts,
but the question whether the practice should be banned is likely
to arise again during the course of the next Parliament.
PRIMATES AS PETS
60. In June 2014, we considered the case for banning
the keeping of primates (including, for example, marmosets, tamarins
and capuchin monkeys) as pets.[95]
In the absence of any accurate estimate of how many primates are
currently so kept, we concluded that the case for a ban could
not be made unless and until research was done to establish accurate
figures. We called, however, for the Government's planned review
of the code of practice relating to privately kept primates to
be conducted immediately, rather than later in 2015, as planned.
The Government rejected that call, and a review of the code should
therefore take place later this year.[96]
We called for that review to produce a revised code containing
information sufficiently detailed and specific to enable private
keepers to meet the welfare needs of their animals and to understand
what is required under existing animal welfare legislation. A
future Committee may wish to contribute further to the planned
code revision.
85 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Second
Report of Session 2013-14, Vaccination against bovine TB, HC
258 Back
86
HC Deb, 18 December, col 126WS Back
87
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Eighth report of
Session 2014-15, Defra performance in 2013-14, HC 802 Back
88
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Seventh Report
of Session 2012-13, Dog Control and Welfare, HC 575 Back
89
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, First Report of
Session 2013-14, Draft Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Bill, HC 95
[Note: the Government did not in the event introduce a separate
Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Bill, rather incorporated clauses in
Part 7 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014] Back
90
Oral evidence given on 3 September 201 to Horse welfare
inquiry, HC 546 Back
91
Letter from Miss Anne McIntosh MP dated 10 September 2014 and
reply dated 30 October 2014 from Lord de Mauley. Back
92
Julian Sturdy "Horse Welfare Law Receives Approval", accessed
26 February 2015. See also Bill pages on Control of Horses Bill
on Parliament website. Back
93
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Fourth Report of
Session 2013-14, Wild Animals in Circuses, HC 553 Back
94
Wild Animals in Circuses Private Members' Bill Back
95
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Eleventh Report
of Session 2013-14, Primates as pets, HC 984 Back
96
Government response, to Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee
Report of Session 2013-14, Primates as pets, HC 984 Back
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