OneKind last night presented the Lord Houghton Award for Services to Animal Welfare to David Martin MEP in recognition of decades of commitment and practical work to improve the lot of animals in the UK, Europe and beyond.
The Award commemorates Lord Houghton of Sowerby (1898 – 1996), a doughty champion of many causes, including animal welfare. Aged only 19 the young Douglas Houghton fought in the front line at Ypres and Passchendaele. He came home to become a clerk in the Inland Revenue, and later a prominent trade union leader, Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister and Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party.
In his later years, he worked with Clive Hollands, Director of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Vivisection and the St Andrew Animal Fund – the predecessors of OneKind. Together, the two campaigned to improve the lot of animals in the laboratory, on the farm, in the home and in the wild. Together, they persuaded all the major political parties to include animal welfare commitments in their manifestos in the run-up to the 1979 general election – a model we still try to emulate today.
Even at the age of 97, Lord Houghton attended the House of Lords to press for much-needed reform of the Dangerous Dogs Act. In the same year, he called on his fellow peers to support greater protection of wild animals under the Wild Mammals (Protection) Bill, deploring the fact that it was not (at that time) illegal for a group of lads to use a hedgehog as a football. Like OneKind, he called for more equal treatment of wild animals under animal welfare legislation.
OneKind is one of four animal welfare societies (the others are the League Against Cruel Sports, National Anti-Vivisection Society and the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection)) charged with presenting the award in commemoration of Lord Houghton’s achievements for animals. Presenting the Award, OneKind Chairman Roger Wilson said:
“David actually worked at the St Andrew Animal Fund and Advocates for Animals prior to entering politics, and now holds the honorary title of Vice-President of OneKind.Then and now, David’s dedication to improving the protection of animals has been remarkable, including active campaigning on important issues such as the live transport of animals in Europe and the use of animals in experiments.
“As a member of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee, David was involved in achieving the European ban on the importation and sale of seal products coming from the inhumane commercial hunt. Despite a vigorous challenge from the sealing nations, the World Trade Organisation recently confirmed that this ban was valid – the first recognition by WTO that animal welfare is an issue of public morality and an important precedent for the future.
“David has taken a strong stance against whaling, proving pivotal in influencing negotiations with Japan to review its outdated policy on whaling. More recently, years of work by David and others to end the sale within the EU of cosmetics tested on animals bore fruit when the EU Cosmetics Directive was fully implemented – at last.
“Looking to the future, in his role as Vice President of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Animal Welfare, David recently helped to launch an initiative to put animal welfare at the heart of next year’s European elections. The aim is for all returning MEPs and new candidates to sign a pledge to improve animal welfare in seven key areas including the creation of a European animal welfare framework law, and increased recognition that animals are sentient beings.”
Accepting the Award, David spoke of his admiration for both Lord Houghton and Clive Hollands, and their dedication to bringing the animal welfare movement together to work more effectively. He also referred to the significance of the recent WTO ruling on the seal products ban – although he stressed that there was still a possibility of an appeal – and the importance of recognising that animal welfare, as a matter of public morality, could competently be a factor in trade legislation.
OneKind will be encouraging MEPs and candidates to sign the animal welfare pledge and look forward to seeing still more MEPs who are prepared to sign Declarations, lodge amendments, question the Commission, challenge the animal industries and work in partnership with animal welfare organisations.All of this will help to secure essential change for animals in Europe.