28/11/06
A strategy for improving animal welfare in England by building
new relationships between Government and its key partners, is
published for consultation today.
The Animal Welfare Delivery Strategy aims to increase society's
understanding and expertise in caring for animals, and to improve
welfare above and beyond the baseline standards set by law.
It suggests innovative ways of doing this, such as improving the
labelling of food with information about the welfare conditions
of the animals from which it was produced, allowing consumers to
make informed choices about what they buy.
Other proposals include building agreement on global animal welfare
standards, which can be embedded in future international laws and
treaties.
Ben Bradshaw, Minister for Animal Health and Welfare, said: “Everyone
who keeps or works with animals can help improve their care. While
it's our job in Government to set minimum standards by law, the
public and our key partners also have a vital role to play. This
strategy suggests ways we can take responsibility for different
aspects of this issue and work together to achieve good animal
welfare – it's a subject that affects us all and we want
to hear what others think of our vision.”
In all, the strategy proposes five key goals:
- Improving the quality and range of training and education for
animal keepers
- Enforcing welfare rules efficiently to protect
animals while putting as little burden as possible on their keepers
- Providing
more comprehensive and standardised information to consumers
on the welfare history of animal products
- Working towards internationally-agreed
standards for animal welfare
Developing a robust and thorough system for measuring welfare
standards
Notes to editors
- The Animal Welfare Delivery Strategy builds on the principles
set out in the 2004 Great Britain Animal Health and Welfare Strategy
and is consistent with the new Animal Welfare Act.
- The strategy
has been developed with external advisers and responds to requests
from animal interest groups for more detailed information on
the Government's priorities in this area.
- The strategy covers
England only. Devolved Administrations are considering similar
issues and Defra will share information on best practice with
them.
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