ePolitix.com speaks to Professor Bill Reilly, president of the British Veterinary Association, about the role of animal health and welfare in the election campaign.
What are the most pressing issues for animal healthcare ahead of the general election?
Tackling bovine Tuberculosis (bTB), addressing the health and welfare issues of dog breeding, and securing the future of animal health in the UK (i.e. the current Defra consultation on responsibility and cost-sharing), are the top three issues for us right now.
The veterinary profession has long campaigned for a better approach to tackling bTB and we have been lobbying politicians for a targeted badger cull alongside stricter cattle measures for some time. The proposed cull in Wales is due to begin soon, and we hope that similar measures can be deployed in England without delay.
Dog breeding has been in the headlines for the last couple of years, following the Pedigree Dogs Exposed programme, and the BVA has been working behind the scenes with the Kennel Club and welfare charities to start to make the necessary changes to improve the health and welfare of purebred dogs.
But it's a juggernaut, and will take some time to turn around. We need a strong commitment from politicians that this is a priority, and an understanding that we will need resources to get it right. The Bateson, APGAW and RSPCA reports all identified areas for significant change and improvement in the dog-breeding world, but we need political will and financial resources to implement them. In the longer term, we also need to consider breeding issues across other species.
The future of animal health and welfare policy is being hotly debated at the moment with the draft Animal Health Bill, and I sit as an independent member of the Advisory Group on Responsibility and Cost Sharing, chaired by Rosemary Radcliffe. The current proposals to separate animal health and animal welfare are a nonsense, and we have yet to find anyone in favour of these plans, other than the current government. Yes, we need to ensure that the cost of disease outbreaks are properly resourced, but we also need a model that recognises that health and welfare are inextricably linked, that ensures the Chief Veterinary Officer has a powerful voice, and that promotes better health and welfare for all animals.
In addition to our top three pressing issues, I'd also like to mention dangerous dogs and dairy cow welfare. The Scottish Parliament recently passed the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Bill, recognising the principle of 'deed not breed'. We are delighted that Defra is currently consulting on this incredibly important issue, and we hope that whichever party (or parties) gains power after the general election does not let this opportunity to reform a failed piece of legislation pass.
As UK consumers become increasing savvy I would also like to mention the importance of dairy cow welfare as a political issue. The public response to recent plans for an 8,000-cow dairy farm in North Kesteven, Lincolnshire reminds us that the public does care deeply about the welfare of the animals that provide our food. The UK enjoys some of the highest standards of welfare for farmed animals in the world, but we must not be complacent and the BVA will ensure that we constantly strive for even better health and welfare for animals. The BVA recently produced a policy on dairy cow welfare that encourages vets to work with farmers to formulate 'herd welfare plans'.
Are animal health issues focused on to a satisfactory level by parliamentarians?
We are regularly told that animal welfare issues fill MPs' postbags, so animal health and welfare issues should be a major priority for politicians. Secretary of State Hilary Benn's explanation for splitting responsibility for animal health and animal welfare is the high level of concern for welfare issues expressed by the British public (i.e. electorate).
However, we would like to see more attention paid to animal health and welfare issues on a regular basis, not just when issues hit the headlines, such as dangerous dogs or disease outbreaks. It is also disappointing that very little attention has been paid to animal welfare issues in the three main parties' manifestos, and even less attention to animal health issues.
Individual politicians have been incredibly supportive of the veterinary profession and regularly champion the British Veterinary Association's issues through parliamentary questions. The BVA maintains a list of honorary associate members and honorary members, largely made up of parliamentarians of all parties from all parliaments in the UK (plus the European Parliament), and we are very grateful to them for their interest in the issues.
The BVA's charity, the BVA Animal Welfare Foundation, is also supported by parliamentarians who attend the annual AWF Discussion Forum, where key welfare issues are debated and discussed. This year's Discussion Forum will be held on 17th May and we hope that many newly elected MPs will be interested in attending.
The BVA also enjoys a reasonably good relationship with Defra ministers and civil servants. We are regularly consulted on major animal health and welfare issues, and occasionally work closely with Defra to progress matters in Europe, for example the recent lobbying to extend the transitional arrangements for pet travel.
Devolution has afforded the veterinary profession very sympathetic ears in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Perhaps because these administrations are closer to many animal health and welfare matters, we believe there is a greater commitment (and more parliamentary time) devoted to the issues. In many cases, the devolved administrations are leading the way. New legislation on dangerous dogs in Scotland, and the proposals for a targeted badger cull in Wales to tackle bovine Tuberculosis, are both examples where Westminster politicians are lagging behind.
What stances do the three major parties take on specific animal health policy areas?
It is quite difficult to ascertain the parties' stances on specific animal health issues, as mention of animal health and welfare in the party manifestoes is fairly thin. Last week's Veterinary Record (the journal of the BVA) comment outlines the mentions of animal health and welfare across the three main parties' manifestoes.
Although all three parties include references to animal welfare issues, animal health features only in the Conservative Party manifesto, with a commitment to introduce "a carefully managed and science-led policy of badger control in areas with high and persistent levels of bTB", as part of a package of measures. Although the other parties have outlined their policies on bTB through the media over the last 12 months, neither Labour nor the Liberal Democrats mentions bTB in their manifestos, despite the Conservatives describing it as "the most pressing animal health problem in the UK today".
However, it is important to remember that animal health policy isn't necessarily a party-political issue, as we have seen with bovine TB. Although the Labour government in the UK has so far ruled out a badger cull for England, it is the Labour/Plaid Cymru coalition in Wales that has forged ahead with plans for a cull in west Wales.
On animal welfare, each of the parties makes specific pledges. The Conservatives would: give Parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote; promote the highest standards of farm animal welfare; work to reduce the use of animals in scientific research; support the strongest protection for endangered species; tackle the smuggling and illegal trade in wildlife through the new border police force; tackle illegal logging; promote responsible pet ownership by introducing effective codes of practice under the Animal Welfare Act; and target irresponsible owners of dangerous dogs.
The Labour Party's manifesto reminds readers that the Labour government banned fox hunting, and animal testing for cosmetics and tobacco, and pledges to bring forward further animal welfare measures (although these are not listed). Labour would also campaign internationally to end illegal trading in ivory and to protect species such as polar bears, seals and bluefin tuna; and campaign for an EU-wide ban on illegally logged timber, banning it domestically if that does not succeed.
The Liberal Democrats pledge to merge existing quangos to establish an Animal Protection Commission to investigate abuses, educate the public, enforce the law, and publish reports on its own initiative; end testing of household products on animals; and work for the proper enforcement of regulations for the transportation of live animals across all EU member states.
What one piece of legislation would the British Veterinary Association most like to see introduced in the next Parliament?
The BVA agrees with the Conservatives that bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) is the most pressing animal health problem in the UK today, and so we would like to see legislation introducing targeted and managed badger culling in carefully selected areas where badgers are regarded as a significant contributor to the persistent presence of bTB.
If we can also suggest a piece of draft legislation to scrap, we would get rid of the current plans for responsibility and cost sharing (the draft Animal Health Bill), which – despite huge opposition from all interested parties – continue to separate animal health and animal welfare policies. We are not against the stated principles of responsibility and cost-sharing, namely better disease prevention, control and management. It is our contention that the proposed bill will not be the best way to achieve this.
The BVA AWF Discussion Forum will also be voting on the most pressing animal welfare issue for the next government on 17th May. The chairmen of the Companion Animal Welfare Council (CAWC), the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) the BVA's own Ethics and Welfare Group (EWG) will each propose three welfare issues that need to be addressed urgently, and the delegates will vote to identify the most important. Watch this space…
The BVA has been vocal on the modernisation of the Veterinary Surgeons Act. What reforms, if any, would you like to see implemented?
Last year the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) consulted the BVA on its review of the Veterinary Surgeons Act (VSA). In our response, we supported amendments to the VSA in order to bring the disciplinary machinery up to modern standards. The BVA supports an amendment that would give the RCVS discretion to make rules determining the composition of the Preliminary Investigation Committee (PIC) and Disciplinary Committee (DC). The BVA strongly believes that Council members should not be eligible to be members of DC, and that DC should be made up of 50 per cent lay members and 50 per cent veterinary members. This would boost public confidence in the disciplinary mechanism for the veterinary profession.
The BVA is now working with the RCVS and Defra, and considering lobbying members of the new Parliament to support a Legislative Reform Order (LRO) to introduce these important changes.
