How can the current animal welfare law be changed to protect animals more effectively? This work assesses and evaluates the necessary changes to the legal situation. Furthermore, the work contains a ...proposal for a new animal protection law with specifications for animal husbandry, animal experiments, animal transports, a penal norm and the instrument of the nationwide valid association complaint for animal protection officers and recognized animal protection organizations. Long-standing demands, e.g. for effective fire protection regulations for animal stables, bans on certain forms of husbandry and a ban on the exhibition of wild animals in circuses, are also taken up and specifications permissible under European law are formulated. With contributions by Prof. Dr. Jens Bülte; Anna-Lena Dihlmann, LL.B.; Ri’in Dr. Barbara Felde; RAin Linda Gregori and RiAG a.D. Dr. Christoph Maisack and an introduction by Renate Künast.
Broilers have been bred for fast growth which has led to welfare problems such as high mortality, lameness and skin lesions. Slower growing breeds are thought to have better welfare but are not as ...efficient in production. This study investigated welfare, behaviour, production and meat quality of faster growing broilers from three main commercial broiler companies (breeds FA, FB and FC) with a commercially available slower growing breed (Hubbard JA757, S). Four hundred birds of each breed (total 1600 birds) were reared in pens of 50 birds, 8 per breed (total 32 pens). Home pen behaviour was recorded once a week in hourly scan samples to get behavioural time budgets. Welfare Assessments (WA) were done when the average bird weight per breed was 2.2 and 2.5kg. Birds and feed supplied were regularly weighed by pen and Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) and Average Daily Gain (ADG) were calculated at 2.2kg. Birds were then slaughtered and meat quality measures were taken. S and FC had lower mortality and culls due to lameness (P<0.05 for both). Breeds FA, FB and FC grew faster, ate less feed and had better FCR and ADG (P<0.05 for all). S had scores indicating higher welfare for the majority of WA measures and spent more time active and less time sitting, feeding and drinking than the other breeds (P<0.05 for all). Faster growing breeds had more breast meat and S had more leg meat; although S had better meat quality scores (P<0.05). Overall, S birds have improved welfare in terms of activity and welfare measure scores compared to the other breeds but take longer to reach slaughter weight and are not as efficient in production measures. However if lower mortality and improved meat quality are taken into account, as well as the premium price paid for these birds, slower growing broilers may be a viable commercial option.
Abstract
Animal welfare is closely linked to animal health and human welfare and health, as the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) emphasizes in its Global Animal Welfare Strategy of 2017. ...As a result of recent pandemics, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the WOAH have created the One Health High Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP), committed to animal health and human health in the One Health Joint Plan of Action (2022–2026) and pledged to “work together for the Health of Humans, Animals, Plants and the Environment.” Despite these important acknowledgments and efforts from leading world organizations, including the One Health quadripartite, the latter has so far been reluctant to actively pursue the adoption of a legally binding commitment to improve the protection and welfare of animals globally. Animal welfare remains without relevant provisions.
In the following, it is argued this must be integrated into the OHHLEP in addition to the creation of an “Animal Think and Do Tank” in the form of a technical working group, which would finalize a UN Convention on the issue, as proposed, e.g., in the drafted UN Convention on Animal Health and Protection (UNCAHP) 2018. The “Animal Think and Do Tank,” within its One Health context, must manifest a transdisciplinary approach, since – unlike globally binding legislation – policies, agreements, and declarations of various world organizations do not suffice to bring about a fundamental change in animal welfare. Acknowledging that animal protection is a complex and multifaceted issue involving ethical, cultural, social, religious, political, economic, and scientific dimensions (GAL Association,
2018
, Preamble), these aspects must be represented within the decision making process regarding the Convention’s content. Besides veterinarians, experts of further disciplines related to One Health must be consulted – such as lawyers and legal academics specializing in animal, international, and UN law, competent representatives of the animal welfare and animal rights movements, and ethicists and economists. Measures must be taken to improve transparency and overall confidence in the dialogue between the actors, including competent and not specifically scientific representatives of the animal protection and animal rights movement as elements of civil society to advocate for the fundamental interests of animals.
One Health impact statement
This article proposes that a UN Convention on Animal Health and Protection would further the enforceability of a One Health approach to human, environmental, and animal health. Science has proven that these elements are intertwined, but they remain disparate at a legislative level in many jurisdictions. It is suggested that placing animal welfare provisions on a UN-Convention footing by utilizing the positioning of the WOAH and UNEP is the most effective way of rendering One Health policy a global reality. Cooperation between professionals is imperative: scientists, policy makers, and lawyers must work together.
On July 11 and 12, 2019 the First China Animal Law Forum was held in Beijing, which was co-hosted by the Capital Animal Welfare Association and the Vshine Animal Protection Association. Over 130 ...people from mainland China, Hong Kong, USA and Africa took part in the forum, including professionals, lawyers, government, NGO, animal protection volunteers and others. The main topic was how to use laws creatively to protect animals.
Nowadays, Ukraine faces numerous challenges in animal welfare, including ensuring animal welfare, keeping and veterinary care for stray animals, protecting them from cruelty, and preserving ...endangered species. These areas are important and create the need to improve national legislation and its application. The problem is also becoming more urgent within the framework of Ukraine’s European integration vector, accompanied by the harmonization of national legislation with EU law and the ratification and implementation of European standards in the relevant area. The subject matter of the study necessitated the use of dialectical, systemic, structural-functional and informational approaches. The article aims to study the legal regulation of animal rights protection in Ukraine and analyze the animal treatment standards in foreign countries and international organizations.
Keywords: animals; animal protection; international standards; animal cruelty; animal rights.
Bem-estar animal: Padrões europeus como base para reformar a legislação nacional na Ucrânia
RESUMO: Atualmente, a Ucrânia enfrenta inúmeros desafios na área de bem-estar animal, incluindo as garantias e manutenção dos cuidados veterinários de animais perdidos, a proteção da crueldade e preservação de espécies ameaçadas de extinção. Estas áreas são importantes e criam a necessidade de melhorar a legislação nacional e a sua aplicação. O problema também se torna mais urgente no quadro do vetor de integração europeia da Ucrânia, acompanhado pela harmonização da legislação nacional com a legislação da União Européia (EU), e consequentemente, pela ratificação e implementação das normas europeias dessa área relevante, no território nacional. O objeto do estudo exigiu o uso de abordagens dialéticas, sistêmicas, estrutural-funcionais e informacionais. O artigo visa estudar a regulamentação legal da proteção dos direitos dos animais na Ucrânia e analisar os padrões de tratamento animal em países estrangeiros e organizações internacionais da UE.
Palavras-chave: animais; proteção animal; padrões internacionais; crueldade animal; direito dos animais.
The level of compliance with livestock welfare requirements is directly reflected in animal health, behaviour, and performance as well as farm profitability. It is mandatory to keep animals in ...conditions that prevent suffering and that respect animal needs in terms of biology and ethology. Compliance with these obligations in the Czech Republic is supervised by the State Veterinary Administration (SVA) through inspectors affiliated to the veterinary administrations at the regional level. The aim of the study was to identify the main deficiencies observed during official site visits carried out at livestock holdings in 2016–2020 and to assess the trend of the most frequently occurring deficiencies during the reference period. Data obtained from Central Veterinary Administration of the SVA containing a total of 9,147 records of partial welfare checks were subjected to the analysis. The percentage of site visits where deficiencies were found at livestock holdings was 15.04%. When analysed in more detail, the results revealed a significantly ( P < 0.05) highest frequency of violations with respect to administration and animal marking (2,054) followed by the provision of treatment and spatial conditions. The trend analysis showed no significant increase or decrease in the frequency of violations in the selected areas during the reference period ( P > 0.05). The results show the need to focus on compliance with duties in the framework of administration and animal marking, provision of treatment, and provision of animal management standards, especially in terms of spatial conditions, nutrition, and animal hygiene where violations were consistently found most often.
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