MEP for Scotland Animal Welfare Summer 2015 - cloudfront.net
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MEP for Scotland
Animal Welfare Summer 2015
Hello, and welcome to the Summer 2015 According to the CIWF study, animals are being
edition of my Animal Welfare newsletter. kept in overcrowded bare wire cages for 24 hours a
day, subsisting on highly medicated food laced with
Since my last newsletter, the European Parliament antibiotics and overbred for litters so large that up to
came closer than ever before to stamping out six babies per litter are killed immediately.
bullfighting subsidies in the EU. Currently, subsidies
from the Common Agricultural Policy can be used Rabbits are one of the most caged farm animals and
by farmers to rear bulls for the bullfighting rings. it’s time for the EU to implement formal legislation to
I’ve been campaigning against this for years, and regulate the conditions on these farms.
even delivered a petition against it to the European
Commission directly in 2013. Animals being dragged by their ears – as witnessed
by CIWF observers – is a direct contravention of the
Blood sports have no place in the 21st century. European Council’s “Regulation on the protection
I would normally say that the internal matters of of animals at the time of killing”, and that’s before
another country are the business of that country you even consider the utter squalor in which these
but this supposed sport is barbaric and it is utterly rabbits are kept. The only time the animals are
unacceptable to have EU money boost the coffers let out of the cages is either when they’re being
of people who rear cattle just to watch them be used for breeding purposes or when they’re being
tortured to death. slaughtered.
My group proposed an amendment that would have The bare wire causes sores on the footpads of the
ended these subsidies. The amendment was very rabbits, leading to culling. By replacing the wire with
narrowly defeated but we finally saw a majority of a plastic platform, these lesions can be prevented.
MEPs backing it in principle. So while we didn’t get
the result we wanted, the fight to defend animal Simple changes can make a world of difference to
rights in Europe isn’t over. the welfare of these animals, and that’s why I’m
backing CIWF’s campaign to End the Cage Age.
Meanwhile, Compassion in World Farming (CIWF)
As always, if you need to get in touch, the
have been running a great campaign to ‘End the
Cage Age’, seeking to introduce strong EU legislation quickest way is to send me a wee email at
to oversee the conditions in European rabbit meat alyn.smith@europarl.europa.eu Otherwise,
farms. have a great summer and thanks for your
continued support!
Yours aye,
Alyn Smith MEP
Working with the Born Free Foundation
to put a stop to “canned hunting”
He’s been hand-reared from a cub and lost
all his natural wariness around humans.
Lounging in the sun, the lion sees the jeep
approaching over the crest of the hill.
Yawning, he gets to his feet and trots over to
see if they’ve brought him any food. BANG.
A hunting arrow slams into his brain, his
flank, his shoulder. The last thing he sees
Canned hunting is no sport, says Alyn.
is a tourist reloading while the driver looks
away.
By creating a market for canned lions, the lion farms
Welcome to the world of the canned hunt. have put a price-tag on the head of every wild lion.
The wild population of lions has plummeted by 80% in
Extremely wealthy hunters from all over the world recent years, more than enough for the Commission to
congregate in South Africa to kill tame lions. A lion is justify invoking the sustainability arguments to block
taken from its pen to an enclosure from which he cannot the import of the trophies and remove a valuable link in
escape, so the hunter is guaranteed a trophy to take the canned-hunt chain. After all, why bother shooting
home. an unsuspecting, tame animal if you can’t boast about it
later?
The European Commission has now initiated a revision of
amendments to try to suspend the import of lion hunting I’m going to be working with the Born Free Foundation
‘trophies’ into the EU. Botswana has banned canned to put a stop to this cruel game once and for all. Thank
hunting completely, which is a heartening move, but I still you to all the constituents who emailed me to show their
think we can do more in the EU. support – I’ll keep you all posted.
Microchip your pet – you could save their life!
From 2016, microchipping will be
compulsory for all dogs and it’s about
time too!
Following a public consultation, 83% of respondents
agreed that all dogs should be microchipped. Most
of the dog owners I know have already had their pets
microchipped but for those who haven’t, Dogs Trust is
Why risk losing your pup?
offering the service for free in its rehoming centres and
mobile clinics throughout Scotland!
I believe it could also be a valuable tool in tackling puppy-
On my last visit to Dogs Trust Glasgow, I saw dogs whose farming and puppy smuggling. Richard Lochhead, Rural
owners were almost certainly worrying themselves sick, Affairs Secretary, has pointed out that over 10,000 dogs
trying to find their missing pet. were reunited with their owners in 2014, thanks to
microchipping. This is an impressive figure, but it could
Anyone who owns a dog can back me up when I say that be improved on dramatically by ensuring that all dogs are
collars can easily fall off or be removed. But that tiny chip microchipped, and, equally important, that their details
stays put, no matter how many hedges your dog runs are kept up-to-date.
through. Microchipping is an absolutely invaluable tool
in helping reunite lost, stolen, or strayed dogs with their For more information on getting your dog microchipped
owners. If your pet wanders off, you can simply check for free by those good folk at Dogs Trust, go to:
www.chipmydog.org.uk
2 the central database.
Changes to EU pet travel scheme
to curb puppy smuggling
You might have missed this story but puppy-
smugglers have been foiled by important
changes to the EU pet travel scheme.
Before December, puppies as young as six weeks old with
false passports and fake vaccination stickers for rabies
were being sold for hundreds of pounds on internet sites.
The animals were crammed into a suitcase and driven
thousands of miles to the UK, according to a report by
Get your new best friend from a reputable breeder or shelter
Dogs Trust.
They could get away with this because there were no their mothers at six weeks, crushed into a suitcase and
penalties for commercial dealers, who could declare up to transported thousands of miles away.
five puppies whose paperwork might be checked while an
undisclosed number of animals were hidden in the back Quarantine periods exist for a reason, and some people
of the vehicle. appear to have forgotten that rabies can be fatal for
humans!
Now border agencies can set penalties for smugglers
as a deterrent to the lucrative market of smuggling So please, if you or anyone you know is considering
unvaccinated puppies into the country. adding a pet to the family, make sure you check the
breeder’s background, make sure the puppy is healthy
This is welcome – and the enforcement of this legislation and happy, and check their vaccinations are all up to date.
will hopefully enable action on this issue. As an animal Or you can adopt a pooch from your local shelter! They’ve
lover and honorary Vice President of the Scottish SPCA, all been checked, vaccinated, and are just waiting for a
I find it abhorrent that puppies would be snatched from loving home.
In brief
ONE-STOP SHOP: The Written Declaration for a one-
stop shop for Animal Welfare is the first step towards
a centralised unit for all animal welfare concerns. Right
Stay informed
now, there’s a good whack of legislation covering the
welfare of animals that are used for food. But when it It’s easy to keep in touch about my work on your behalf
comes to the welfare of animals in captivity, the standards and on developments in the European Parliament:
vary considerably. The expansion of the European
Commission’s Animal Welfare unit could act as a central
information point for a coherent delivery of policy. That alyn.smith@europarl.europa.eu
can only be a good thing.
BEES: How many times have you seen a dead bumblebee Techcube, 1 Summerhall,
on the pavement this summer? Stop! The bee is probably Edinburgh, EH9 1PL
not dead, but only sleeps. Bees often overestimate how
much energy they have, and/or are buffeted off-course alynsmithSNP
thanks to traffic on the roads. The poor little things fall
to the ground and try to muster the energy for another
flight, leaving themselves vulnerable to clumsy footsteps.
@AlynSmithMEP
If you find a bee on your driveway or pavement, simply
mix a little sugar with some warm water – enough to
www.alynsmith.eu
3
dissolve it – and gently pour it by the bee.
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