Animal welfare in farming
Volt aligns itself with the Five Freedoms principle adopted by well-renowned organisations for animal health [1].
Animal welfare should be expressed through freedom from hunger or thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury or disease; freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour and, finally, freedom from fear and distress. Volt strongly condemns any kind of animal abuse.
On more than one occassion, the Animal Protection Denmark organisation have documented how animals are transported from Denmark through Europe under terrible conditionsto be slaughtered.
Here Volt stands firm: the transport of live animals must be heavily regulated within EU borders and we must completely ban the long-term transport of animals outside the EU.
We must:
Uphold the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes and the five freedoms in relation to animals that are relied upon for economic purposes [2]
Volt believes it is necessary to ensure that scientific, cultural and societal beliefs are sufficiently integrated in policies regarding animal husbandry, commercial fisheries and other related practices. In order to ensure this happens we rely on best practices as identified by expert organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation [3]
Condemn any form of animal slaughter that does not include stunning and unconsciousness, and advocate for strict forms of controls.
Despite the Council Regulation (EC) N° 1099/2009 aimed at protecting the animal at the time of killing,[4] animal mistreatment cases are still reported on a regular basis across Europe [5] .Volt relies on best practices developed by the World Organisation for Animal Health, and further advocates for prohibiting any distraction methods as well as restraining methods which work through electro-immobilisation or immobilisation by injury [6].
Make it illegal to routinely feed animals antibiotics, steroids or other medication, unless strictly necessary for health reasons, as prescribed by licensed vets.
Volt supports the procedure 2014/0257 (COD) on veterinary medicinal products that led to a regulation limiting the use of antibiotics in prophylaxis and metaphylaxis. We believe that more strict standards are needed in the long run to limit the risk of the development of bacteria resistant to antibiotics. [7].
Create species-appropriate livestock farming measures to improve animal welfare and long-term sustainability:
Promote livestock farming with species-appropriate herd sizes, adequate space, and the integration of playthings.
Stop preventive use of antibiotics in livestock farming.
In case of disease-related use of antibiotics, it has to be ensured that only non-reserve human antibiotics are used.
Establish alternatives to imported soy as protein sources for animal nutrition. Explorable possibilities include the cultivation of soybeans in Europe and the use of alternatives such as duckweed
Sources
[1] World Organisation for Animal Health, Health Standards, Section 7: Animal Welfare, available at http://www.oie.int/fileadmin/Home/eng/Health_standards/tahc/current/chapitre_aw_introduction.pdf ; Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Home, available at https://www.rspca.org.uk/
[2] European Commission, Animal Welfare, https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/welfare_en.
[3] FAO, Capacity Building to Implement Good Animal Welfare Practices, available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/pdf/012/i0483e/i0483e00.pdf.
[4] The Council of the European Union, Council regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 of 24 September 2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing, available at https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32009R1099
[5] Francebleu, Acte de cruauté envers les animaux: l’abattoir de Mauléon suspendu, available at https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/faits-divers-justice/pays-basque-l-association-l214-denonce-des-cas-de-cruaute-animale-l-abattoir-de-mauleon-1459250146
[6] World Organisation for Animal Health, Terrestrial Animal Health Code - Chapter 7.5: Slaughter of Animals, available at http://www.oie.int/index.php?id=169&L=0&htmfile=chapitre_aw_slaughter.htm
[7] European Council, Veterinary medicines: new EU rules to enhance availability and fight against antimicrobial resistance, available at https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2018/06/13/veterinary-medicines-new-eu-rules-to-enhance-availability-and-fight-against-antimicrobial-resistance/#
