World Society for the Protection of Animals
Indicators for Enforcement
– a global perspective
Enforcement of European Animal Welfare Related
Legislation
12th June 2012, Brussels
Carla Brown
Legislative Affairs Manager
World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA)
World Society for the Protection of Animals
World Society for the Protection of
Animals
• WSPA works to end the suffering of billions of animals
around the world. We passionately believe that animal
welfare matters and animal cruelty must end, whether
that animal is in the wild, living in a community, caught
up in a disaster or is being farmed.
• Through strategic campaigning and by proving our
lasting solutions, we will put animal welfare on the
global agenda and show that what’s good for animals is
good for the world.
World Society for the Protection of Animals
WSPA’s legislation work
• Providing expertise & guidance in response to
increased demand for legislative support
• Collaborating with governments, international
organisations & NGOs in developing legislation and
other standards
• Auditing animal-related laws worldwide
• Monitoring & evaluating the effectiveness of animalrelated laws
• Educating policy makers about the spread of legislation
and its relevance to other political and social priorities
World Society for the Protection of Animals
How many countries have animal welfare
laws?
• The title of the law can be
deceiving
• Differences in purpose:
• Protecting
species/environment
• Banning activities
• Controlling methods of
production
• Improving animal welfare
• Prohibiting cruelty
• Improving public health
World Society for the Protection of Animals
WSPA legislation research project
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Are all sentient animals covered by the main welfare legislation?
Is sentience or the significance of animals acknowledged?
Are act and omission offences included?
Is there protection from hunger and thirst?
Is there a right to appropriate living conditions?
Is there protection from physical suffering?
Is there a right to express natural behaviour?
Is there protection from mental suffering?
Do the penalties for animal cruelty include banning orders?
Is breeding of dogs regulated?
Is fur farming illegal?
Is bestiality illegal?
Is there legislation preventing wild animals being in circuses?
Is animal fighting illegal?
Are there laws on animal experimentation?
Are there laws to ensure humane slaughter of farm animals?
Is the Government supportive of a UDAW?
World Society for the Protection of Animals
What now?
• Laws being passed are
not enough to ensure the
welfare of animals
• Most animal laws are
inadequately
implemented
• How should animal
welfare organisations
ensure these laws are
properly enforced?
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Factor 1: The adoption of suitable
legislation
• Wording of legislation must be clear and
adequate definitions are essential
• Inclusion of act and omission offences
• Avoiding conflicting legislation
• If there are supplementary guidelines or
secondary legislation which need to be created
alongside the law, it should be done as soon as
possible
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Factor 2: Relevant government structure
and supportive government
• If there is no dedicated Ministry for Animal Welfare then
it is essential that the parameters of responsibility for
specific issues are clear between different governmental
bodies
• Carefully appointed advisory committees with a clear
role and remit are required
• The government must support the legislation which has
been enacted or amend any problems it sees
accordingly, so that the requirement for proper
enforcement of the law is always present
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Factor 3: Appropriate consequences for
breaching or abiding by the law
• The use of penalties for breaches of the law and
rewards for adhering to its requirements should be
carefully considered
• Penalties should be appropriate to the offence
committed and the judiciary should have to option to
order removal of the animal in question or impose a ban
on keeping animals where relevant
• Inclusion of incentives for positive animal welfare should
be examined as these can lead to greater compliance
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Factor 4: Clear responsibility for
enforcement
• Responsibility and methods for enforcing animal
protection laws must be clearly stated in primary
legislation or in other supporting documents
• The most appropriate enforcing agency may
differ between countries and with regard to the
specific welfare issue in question
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Factor 5: Education of animal welfare
issues and the law
• Provisions for educating the public and target
audiences about animal welfare and the
relevant laws are necessary for effective
enforcement in the long-term
• The role of education is a key factor in the
development of societal values that safeguard
animal welfare and to encourage citizens to
support enforcement bodies and abide by the
law
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Factor 6: Allocation of sufficient
resources
• Animal law enforcement agencies must be assigned a
reliable income stream which is sufficient to enable them
to adequately uphold the law
• There must be provision of suitable training for
enforcement personnel so that they are knowledgeable
in animal welfare issues
• In addition, the appropriate infrastructure must be
developed which supports the implementation of the law
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Factor 7: Cultural appropriateness and
relevance
• Legislation must be created which is culturally
appropriate and so effort should be made to understand
the motivations behind certain behaviour in order to
assist in ensuring compliance
• If laws which have already been introduced are found to
have little relevance to the current environment to which
they apply, amendments should be made to reflect and
accommodate the cultural context whilst ensuring
animal welfare is protected
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Factor 8: Societal support for the
legislation
• Where there is widespread backing, or when legislation
has been enacted in some way as a result of public
lobbying, there is more likely to be greater awareness,
compliance and enforcement of the law
• As civil society has a part to play regarding encouraging
high standards of welfare and reporting breaches of the
law, it is important that an environment is created
whereby there is societal support for legislation
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Factor 9: Mechanisms to monitor
enforcement
• To ensure enforcement is as effective as
possible, monitoring mechanisms must be in
place to gain a full understanding of all the
issues relating to implementation and
enforcement of the law
• Any changes which are required as a result of
the findings should be carried out as soon as
possible
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Factor 10: Process for amending policy
instruments
• The procedure for amending policy instruments and
enforcement protocols which relate to the protection of
animals must be straightforward so that the legislation
and its related regulations, standards, codes of practice
etc can be altered
• Modifications may need to be made in response to
changing situations in animal welfare and society or
when monitoring of enforcement shows ineffectiveness
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Summary
• Increasingly more countries are
developing animal welfare
legislation
• However, the existence of
legislation alone is not sufficient to
improve animal welfare – it needs
to be properly implemented and
robustly enforced
• Many factors are necessary for
effective enforcement and
governments, animal welfare
groups and the public all need to
take more responsibility to ensure
the animal protection law is being
properly implemented
World Society for the Protection of Animals
Thank You