Animal Health and Welfare Strategy for Great Britain
Executive Summary
The potential benefits of enhanced animal health and welfare are great; for animals, their owners, society, public health and the wider rural economy. This strategy has been developed, after extensive consultation with stakeholders, to answer the call for a new approach to animal health and welfare. The Animal Health and Welfare Strategy sets out what we want to achieve over the next decade and provides a clear and strategic direction for how we will do this.
The vision in Chapter 2 is for a sustainable future for animal health and welfare and thus sets out where we want to be in the next 10 years. It is a strong challenge to maintain and improve animal health and welfare standards and the goals of the strategy are summarised under five strategic outcomes, which are discussed in Chapters 4 to 8.
Chapter 3 explains the scope of the Strategy. This strategy is concerned with animals that are for one reason or another under people's control. It encompasses the health and welfare of farmed livestock, companion and other animals, aquaculture, and game animals. The strategy is also concerned with wildlife where our actions affect their health or welfare, or where there is a risk of wildlife transmitting disease to other animals or humans.
The key theme of the Strategy, working in partnership, is addressed in Chapter 4. This is a strategy for all those with an interest in animal health and welfare. Government has a distinct role to play, but the effective implementation of the strategy can only be achieved if everybody works together and accepts their respective roles and responsibilities in delivering the vision.
Chapter 5 focuses on the principle that prevention is better than cure. An imals that are cared for appropriately and in accordance with acceptable welfare standards are more likely to be healthy, and less likely to contract or spread disease. Animal owners have a responsibility to understand and meet the health and welfare needs of their animals. In the livestock sector the prevention of disease not only improves the welfare of the animals, but can also provide economic benefits. Farm health planning is a key way in which livestock owners can improve the health and welfare of their animals and raise farm profitability. Veterinary surgeons are well placed to promote and provide farm health planning and other proactive services to improve animal health and welfare. Government is working with the veterinary profession, stakeholders and farmers to identify ways to maximise the contribution of the profession. Furthermore, welltrained stockmen are also essential to recognising the signs of disease or poor welfare at an early stage. A good foundation of knowledge already exists, and we need to work together to make sure that all animal owners have appropriate training and skills.
Chapter 6 recognises that all those with an interest in animal health and welfare must have a good understanding and acceptance of roles and responsibilities. Ultimately it is up to animal owners to make a real difference to the health and welfare of their animals. They need to consider whether they have the means, skills and knowledge to accept the responsibility that being an animal owner entails. Veterinary surgeons must take a more proactive role in the future. They are a vital conduit for ensuring that animal owners are adequately informed and are aware of best practice and the latest research. Many food chain businesses depend on the supply of live animals, and as such they have the same duty of care to those animals' health and welfare as any other animal owner. Consumers need to consider the implications of the choices they make in their food purchases, and retailers should facilitate this process. Interest groups have a role in raising awareness with policy makers and the public, but also have a responsibility to make sure the information they provide is fair and balanced. Finally, this chapter sets out the 4 reasons where it may be appropriate for government intervene: to protect public health, to protect and promote animal welfare, to protect society's interests, and to further international trade.
Ensuring a clearer understanding of costs and benefits is the focus of Chapter 7. It sets out the principles that government uses to make its decisions, and recognises that animal owners need to understand the costs and benefits of government intervention as well as their own actions to ensure effective delivery and inform their own decision making. Since everybody stands to benefit from the successful delivery of the strategy, it is not for Government alone to incur all the costs that achieving better standards of health and welfare entails. These costs should, over time, and where appropriate, be shared more fairly between those affected.
Chapter 8 discusses delivering and enforcing standards effectively. Government must ensure that the necessary incentives and sanctions are in place to maintain and improve animal health and welfare standards and they must be delivered appropriately. Intervention must be clearly prioritised and delivered effectively.
Chapter 9, putting the strategy into practice, explains how the strategy will be communicated, measured, and managed. Indicators are being developed with stakeholders and animal owners to measure the strategy's progress towards its objectives. A Steering Board, made up of Government and stakeholders and taking input from a science group, will provide strategic guidance on the priorities, communication and development of the strategy. A conference will be held to communicate progress and inform priorities. The delivery of the strategy will be shown in separate Implementation Plans for England, Scotland and Wales to reflect the circumstances of the different countries. These will be updated annually to show progress under the strategy.