OneKind congratulates Liz Truss MP on her appointment as the UK Environment Secretary. The Department that she leads, DEFRA, has responsibility for Food, the Environment and Rural Affairs in England so has a major role in shaping animal welfare for pets, wild animals and farm animals. Whilst there are many areas of animal welfare that need to be tackled, OneKind sees three key areas where action can be taken swiftly and as a matter of priority.
Last week we reported on calls for a reduction in the routine use of antibiotics in human medicine, following implementation of new medical procedures. As members of the Alliance to Save Our Antibiotics, OneKind and other organisations pointed out just under half of antibiotics used in the UK are given to farm animals, much of them to prevent the diseases caused by intensive farming. If antimicrobial resistance is now to be given the same risk status as terrorism, as stated by Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies, then one priority for Liz Truss must surely be ensuring farm animals are kept in more humane, disease-free conditions.
Sitting in her pending tray will be a Bill to ban the use of wild animals in circuses in England. This was a government commitment and following both a public consultation and scrutiny by Westminster’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee the Government announced only last October that it intended to press ahead with legislation and introduce a Bill to Parliament. Animal welfare campaigners were dismayed that the promised legislation was not included in the Queen’s Speech last month. Having gone through the process needed for legislation all that is needed to complete the journey is to introduce the Bill to Parliament this year before the UK General Election. It therefore is an easy step so we would urge the new Environment Secretary to introduce the Bill as a matter of priority.
In DEFRA’s library the new Environment Secretary will find a report commissioned from her own department and published in March 2012. This study illustrated the cruelty and indiscriminate nature of snares. Despite ample evidence showing snares could be used neither humanely nor effectively there has still been no progress towards making these cruel traps illegal in the UK. Whilst DEFRA is revising a voluntary code on snares, they remain legal, much to the surprise and horror of the general public. We would ask that DEFRA consult on a ban on the use of snares in England.
We could list many more areas for action, but with a UK general election in May 2015 Parliament will dissolve next March and so not everything is possible. Therefore with timing of the essence these three things could improve animal welfare and prevent unnecessary suffering for thousands of animals. So we wish Liz Truss all the best in her new role and hope she succeeds in improving the lives of animals in next nine months