‘Animals & Politics’ Category

Why won’t the UK Government ban wild animals in circuses?

Monday, February 6th, 2012

By Nicola Gothard

In light of today’s news that the Greek government has banned the use of all animals in circuses, it would be timely to explore this situation in the UK. Greece joins a growing number of countries to prohibit or limit the use of animals in circuses. National measures have been adopted in Bolivia, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Peru, Portugal, Sweden, Singapore, Costa Rica, India and Israel. So, why is the UK, a nation of animal lovers, lagging behind not only European countries but also third world countries not normally known for their animal welfare standards? Despite a unanimous vote in the House of Commons in favour of a ban on June 23rd 2011 the UK government has failed to implement a ban on wild animals in circuses.

The Tory led government appears adamant that there won’t be a ban on the use of wild animals but it is not clear why. There are very few circuses in UK that even have performing wild animals and unlike fox hunting – visiting the circus is not a favourite past time of Tory MPs and the general elite. Perhaps there is a connection between the Conservatives and powerful people in the circus industry or perhaps they view any measures to improve animal welfare to be another affront on their lifestyle and another step on the slippery slope to ruining all of their country pursuits?

Initially the government said that a ban might be an illegal act under European Union law as it could be seen to contravene the European Services Directive. The European Commission said that in theory a ban could be against the Services Directive but it could be justified by ‘overriding reasons of public interest’ and clarified that animal welfare is a totally valid reason under this provision. The British government said that there was already a legal challenge against Austria after they banned wild animals in Circuses and they would wait to see what the outcome of this challenge would be. In December 2011 the Austrian Constitutional Court in Vienna announced that it had thrown out an application by Circus Krone to overturn Austria’s ban on wild animals in circuses.

So what is public opinion in the UK on this matter? In 2011, an independent poll carried out by YouGov revealed that 72% of the public backed the ban with only 8% against. Furthermore, In 2010, Defra announced the results of their 2009 public consultation on animals in circuses, which resulted in a huge 94.5% public support for a ban.

All the arguments against a ban have been answered; by the European Commission, by the Austrian courts, by public opinion and by a unanimous vote in parliament.  If like me you think the government should get their act together and take in to account the opinions of democratically elected MPs and the general public they are supposed to represent, then please write to your MP and ask them to sign EDM 2563 directing the Government to use its powers under section 12 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to introduce a regulation banning the use of all wild animals in circuses to take effect by 1 July 2012.

You can see if your MP has already signed here

Find out how to contact your MP here

Read more about this campaign here

Posted in Animals & Politics, Captive Wild Animals | No Comments »

EXPOSED: Japan buys votes for whaling!!

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

Contributed by, Nicola Gothard

British newspaper ‘The Sunday Times’ led an investigation in to allegations that Japan has been bribing smaller nations to vote in favour of allowing commercial whaling to recommence after a 24 year ban!

Many land-locked and/or poor countries have recently joined the International Whaling Commission after receiving large sums of  ‘aid’  from Japan and several countries have admitted they vote ‘pro-whaling’ because of the ”help” Japan has given them.

You can read the article in full here.

It appears that Japan is recruiting small nations in need of financial aid to join the whaling commission to bolster the number of pro-whaling votes. When the ban came in to place in 1986 anti-whaling countries far out-numbered pro-whaling nations. However over the years more pro-whaling nations have joined the commission – some of them completly land-locked.  Most of the anti-whaling nations are European with the notable exceptions of Denmark and Norway. However Europe must vote as a block and if they can’t agree all 22 European members will have to abstain from the vote – further bolstering Japans chances of success!

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Give Whales A Voice @ IWC

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Contributed by, Nicola Gothard

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) will be meeting on 21st June to discuss a possible lifting of the commercial whaling ban. The IWC regulates the whaling industry and is responsible for the ban on commercial whaling which came in to force in 1986.  However the commission is largely focused on regulating the whaling industry so that it can be sustainable and the ban had little to do with animal welfare. Whale stocks were hunted to near extinction and a ban was necessary.  However three countries; Japan, Norway and Iceland have continued to hunt whales. Iceland and Norway have objected to the ban and set their own hunting quotas – ignoring international law. Japan operates it’s whaling industry under the guise of ’scientific’; research – the ban allows for limited whaling in the interest of scientific research. Australia have recently filed a suit claiming that Japanese whaling has nothing to do with science and is more commercially motivated.

At the upcoming meeting members will vote on a deal which will see the end to the ban and legitimize commercial whaling. The proposal would allow the three countries that have defied the ban to hunt legally provided they kill less whales than they have been doing illegally. This is a ridiculous proposal, it’s like telling a criminal that their activities are no longer illegal but as a trade-off they can no longer commit the crime so often. Firstly they probably won’t listen because they have already shown they have no respect for the law. Secondly, the international community should not bow to bully nations throwing their weight around. Thirdly, it completely disregards the fact that whaling is inherently inhumane and as such should not be inflicted on any number of whales.

How to Help

I have scouted around the net for various ways you can show governments and the IWC that you do not want to lift the ban on commercial whaling:

1. Everybody can sign this petition to the Norwegian Government  here

2. Everybody can join WSPA Australia’s campaign to give the whales a voice. They are asking everyone to record messages to the International Whaling Commission which they will take to the meeting on June 21st here

3.  In America you can write a letter to your senator asking them to support the International Whale Conservation Protection Act here. The USA is as ever a key decision maker and it id vital that they vote against lifting the ban.

4.  Email the International Whaling Commission to tell them what you think at secretariat@iwcoffice.org

5. In this international community it is important that we all show our national representatives how we feel.  You can find the name of the representative of your country in the IWC  here.  Please contact them and tell them how you would like your country to vote.

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Posted in Animal Welfare in Action, Animals & Politics, Animals in the News, Wild Animals | 1 Comment »

What does new British government mean for fox-hunting?

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

Contributed by, Nicola Gothard

Ok, so bad news first – the Conservative party are the largest party in British government with 307 seats. The good news is that they needed at least 323 to form a majority government and therefore had to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats. Why is this good news? Well, because the Conservatives and Liberals couldn’t be further apart ideologically. The conservatives look after the landed classes and people with money in general, wanting to lower taxes on the rich, cut back on public spending and most importantly to me, repeal the fox-huting ban – favourite past time of the ‘old money’ landowners. On the other hand the Liberal Democrats care about people and to some extent animals too.

Unfortunately as part of the coalition agreement, on page 18 it states,  ”We will bring forward a motion on a free vote, enabling the House of Commons to express its view on the repeal of the Hunting Act.” So it appears likely that a vote on the issue will come up in parliament at some point in the next five years – provided the coalition makes it that far. However the Liberals are anti fox-hunting and don’t have to vote with the conservatives to repeal the ban. Labour brought the ban in to place and won’t want to see it repealed either. Hoever there may be other marginal parties that will side with the conservatives on the issue and it could be a very close contest.

As luck would have it a timetable for such a vote failed to materialise in the Queen’s Speech, effectively indicating that it was no longer a priority and had been shelved! This is possibly because they would be heavily criticised for prioritising a law that affects few people and is effectively about a past-time  when the country is facing a massive financial deficit and their are more universally important issues to address. It also might cause unnecessary friction with the Liberals.

So, it looks like the foxes are safe to live another day – for now! But we must not get complacent and we must continue to show that many more people oppose fox-hunting than support it. The country-side alliance is making more noise on the issue because they don’t have their way, we must not let them manipulate the issue. So 4000 members of the country-side alliance want fox hunting back – there are 70 million people in the UK!

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Posted in Animals & Politics, Animals in the News, Wild Animals | No Comments »

Don’t let them CON you!

Saturday, March 6th, 2010

Contributed by Nicola Gothard, MSc.

There will be a general election in the United Kingdom this summer. People are disillusioned with politics and looking for a change from Labour, following the recession and some dubious behavior over the Iraq war.  I agree to some extent that it would be nice to see a new government but this is very idealistic thinking. When it comes down to it, there are only two parties in the running (Labour and Conservative) and they differ very little in terms of how they would actually run the country. That is, until it comes to animal welfare. I am not saying Labour actually care but they are supportive of animal welfare legislation – if only because the conservatives are not!

I have contacted the conservative MP for my constituency – Ed Vaizey many times about animal welfare issues. I have asked him to support proposals ranging from banning animals in circuses to public procurement of free range eggs to backing the ban on beak trimming to backing the ban on fox hunting. Every single time he has refused to give support and has explicitly told me that he supports fox hunting. If you look at the MPs that have signed Early Day Motions on animal welfare issues, the conservatives always have the least number of sign ups despite being the second largest party in government. EDMs are petitions which can only be signed by MPs and if there are enough signatures the issue will be debated in parliament.

Even the conservative leader, David Cameron is pro fox hunting – having taken parts in hunts himself. The conservatives will repeal the fox hunting ban if they get in to power – it’s as simple as that. Do we really want to elect a government that supports an archaic out-lawed cruel sport like fox hunting? A vote for the conservatives is most definitely a step backward for animal welfare!

Meanwhile since Labour first took office in 1997 there has been more animal welfare legislation passed than ever before and the significance can’t be under-estimated.

  • Since 1997 no great apes (chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas) have been used in experiments in the UK
  • The Home Office stopped giving licences to test finished cosmetic products in 1998
  • Banned fur farming in England and Wales on moral grounds when it passed the Fur Farming (Prohibition) Act in 2000
  • Made it illegal to hunt wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales when it passed the Hunting Act in 2004
  • Passed the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which makes owners and keepers responsible for ensuring that the welfare needs of their animals are met.

If you are interested in whether your MP or candidates back the ban click here.

Several animal welfare organizations have teamed up to ask MPs to sign a pledge to vote cruelty-free on several key animal welfare issues. If you are interested in finding out if your MP or candidates have signed click here.

Let’s make the outcome of this summers election a positive one for animals!

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Posted in Animals & Politics | No Comments »

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Saturday, March 6th, 2010

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Posted in Animal Welfare Science, Animal Welfare in Action, Animals & Philosophy, Animals & Politics, Animals in the News, Book & Movie Reviews, Ethical Eating | No Comments »