The EU is 28 countries that have wildly differing standards of animal welfare legislation and which are moving towards a political union where animal welfare seems to be of little consequence. The British are the most vocal for animal welfare but after full Union we will only have 1 in 12 of the votes on the EU Council and the voice of the British will disappear. The UK will be exposed to the poor standards of animal welfare that will pervade the whole EU.
One of the worst problems of EU membership for those who, like me, love dogs, is puppy smuggling. This trade in puppies that have been farmed in Eastern Europe was enabled by the change in law on quarantine to harmonise with EU law and permit free trade.
The puppies are raised in terrible conditions and suffer from diseases that are endemic in the squalor of East European puppy farms.
In an EU political union the UK will have no voice, it only has 8.5% of the votes. British organisations can have most effect by being outside the EU and showing them how animal welfare can be achieved. This is why organisations such as Lawyers 4 Animals support leaving the EU.
However, the problem is not just puppy farms, the general attitude to animal welfare in the EU is appalling. Investigations by Compassion in World Farming into slaughter in the Middle East have shown that animals that have been exported from the EU are beaten, tied up and have their throats stabbed and hacked at while they are fully conscious. The Commission has allowed this trade to continue despite protests.
The Middle East is not the only place where inhumane slaughter occurs. It also happens in the EU. "Millions of sheep and goats are slaughtered on-farm without stunning or any inspection. No one really knows the number and percentage of licensed vs unlicensed facilities, but it is certain that many animals are slaughtered in unlicensed facilities. This is a major problem for public health and animal health and welfare.
Under pressure from local authorities, many countries changed the rules (hygiene, environment) by lowering standards and made it easier for some abattoirs to operate. So, many “unlicensed” abattoirs now have a license. This seems to have happened in many countries in the EU." (See EU Commission Fails to Act for Animals).
30/12/15
One of the worst problems of EU membership for those who, like me, love dogs, is puppy smuggling. This trade in puppies that have been farmed in Eastern Europe was enabled by the change in law on quarantine to harmonise with EU law and permit free trade.
In an EU political union the UK will have no voice, it only has 8.5% of the votes. British organisations can have most effect by being outside the EU and showing them how animal welfare can be achieved. This is why organisations such as Lawyers 4 Animals support leaving the EU.
However, the problem is not just puppy farms, the general attitude to animal welfare in the EU is appalling. Investigations by Compassion in World Farming into slaughter in the Middle East have shown that animals that have been exported from the EU are beaten, tied up and have their throats stabbed and hacked at while they are fully conscious. The Commission has allowed this trade to continue despite protests.
The Middle East is not the only place where inhumane slaughter occurs. It also happens in the EU. "Millions of sheep and goats are slaughtered on-farm without stunning or any inspection. No one really knows the number and percentage of licensed vs unlicensed facilities, but it is certain that many animals are slaughtered in unlicensed facilities. This is a major problem for public health and animal health and welfare.
Under pressure from local authorities, many countries changed the rules (hygiene, environment) by lowering standards and made it easier for some abattoirs to operate. So, many “unlicensed” abattoirs now have a license. This seems to have happened in many countries in the EU." (See EU Commission Fails to Act for Animals).
30/12/15
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