Stakeholder Position: International Fund for Animal Welfare

International Fund for Animal Welfare

 

 

Introduction

 

IFAW welcomes the introduction of the long awaited Animal Welfare Bill. We look forward to working closely with Parliament and Government to ensure the successful passage of both the Bill as primary legislation, and the series of secondary regulations and codes of practice which will follow the Bill.

 

The Bill provides a modern framework for the implementation of effective and enforceable legislation and regulations on animal welfare. IFAW welcomes the introduction of a “duty of care” for those responsible for animals to ensure that appropriate authorities can proactively prevent or mitigate acts of cruelty.

 

IFAW have chosen to concentrate on three main issues related to this Bill. These issues reflect our concerns, knowledge and expertise: primates as pets, the Internet trade in animals, and animal sanctuaries.

 

Primates as pets 

 

The keeping of primates as pets should be phased out in the UK (see IFAW Report: Born to be wild: Primates are not pets, June 2005).  Experts believe there are as many as 1,500 – 3,000 primates kept as pets in the UK. All primates are threatened throughout their natural habitats, and - as wild animals - are simply not suitable as pets. They demand a much higher standard of care and husbandry than commonly kept domesticated animals and it is highly unlikely that a private owner could provide an animal with the same conditions it would naturally experience in the wild.

 

IFAW is urging the UK Government to phase-out the keeping of primates in private ownership on both conservation and animal welfare grounds. The Government have ruled out doing this on conservation grounds, through a recent Defra consultation on the use of Article 8.2 of an EU regulation on trade in endangered species. The Minister responsible for this consultation, Jim Knight MP, has suggested that alternative primary legislation would be required for a complete prohibition on private ownership of primates. The Animal Welfare Bill provides the perfect opportunity.

 

Therefore, IFAW is extremely disappointed to see that the Government have stated it is not their intention to use the Bill to ban the keeping of animals on welfare grounds (Regulatory Impact Assessment, para. 26). This is despite the option of using regulations to prohibit keeping being included in the draft Bill, and remaining as a clause in the equivalent Animal Health and Welfare Bill currently going through the Scottish Parliament.

 

IFAW is concerned at the suggestion from Defra that codes of practice on the welfare needs of animals will be sufficient to secure the welfare of highly intelligent animals with extremely complex needs, such as primates, especially when such codes of practice will not be legally binding.

 

The decision to remove the option of prohibiting the keeping of certain species from the Bill seems particularly odd when Defra itself has stated that primates are not suitable for the general pet trade.

 

Internet trade

 

The trade in live animals over the Internet is growing in popularity yet remains relatively unchecked and unregulated (see IFAW Report: Caught in the Web: Wildlife Trade on the Internet, August 2005). The Internet removes geographical boundaries, provides anonymity and opens up new commercial markets for live animal traders. As the number of people trading animals online increases, the number of those unqualified to ensure the animals’ welfare also grows.  IFAW will be urging the UK Government to implement statutory codes of practice to ensure that the trade in live animals on the Internet is only permitted when the welfare requirements of the animals in question are being provided for.

 

Animal sanctuaries

 

At present, there is no definition of what constitutes an animal sanctuary and no adequate regulations in place to control the activities of animal sanctuaries in the UK.  Most operate unchecked and without guidance, taking in unwanted or surplus animals from private homes, businesses and police seizures.  Some sanctuaries breed their animals and sell the offspring into the pet trade to generate funds, which exacerbates the welfare problem.  IFAW will be urging the UK Government for an early introduction of a licensing system for all animal sanctuaries to ensure that the purpose of the premises is to provide sanctuary for animals in need, and that the welfare of the animals in their care is their primary objective. Such a system would ensure that welfare standards are maintained through regular inspection and should be responsive to both the number of animals held in a sanctuary AND the species concerned.

 

IFAW urges the Government to prioritise all three areas within the realm of secondary legislation and to commit to the introduction and enforcement of regulation for sanctuaries within the first year. It is essential that animal sanctuaries are fit for purpose as sanctuaries may well face an increase in the number of animals they handle given the enhanced protection and enforcement measures outlined in the Bill. 

 

 

More detailed information on the issues of primates as pets and the Internet trade are available in executive summaries of the IFAW reports.

 

For copies or for further information on any of the issues mentioned above, please contact Matthew Collis, Parliamentary Officer, on 020 7586 6712, mcollis@ifaw.org