Examining farm animal welfare law in the UK and EU

29 December 2020

Introduction

A critical overview of legislation, primarily on-farm welfare, in the UK and EU. As the UK was recently an EU member their legislation is similar. Both are considered to have high animal welfare legislation compared to other parts of the world but still attract criticism, including the lack of law covering fish welfare.

European Union (EU)

The European Commission has improved farmed animal welfare for over 40 years (European Commission, n.d.). Primary law in the EU consists of treaties forming the legal basis for other legislation. Article 13 of Title II of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) significantly states ‘The Union and the Member States shall, since animals are sentient beings, pay full regard to the welfare requirements of animals’ (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 2012).

EU secondary legislation Council Directive 98/58/EC stipulates the minimum standards for animals bred or kept for farming purposes. It requires that Member States make provision to ensure owners observe welfare, refrain from causing ‘unnecessary pain, suffering or injury’ and to have regard for ‘physiological and ethological needs’ of animals (Council Directive 98/58/EC). The Annex lists requirements related to inspections, buildings, equipment, movement restrictions and provision of food and water (Council Directive 98/58/EC). The rules are based on the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes and the so-called ‘five freedoms’ (European Commission, n.d.). Species specific Directives exist for some species in Council Directives 1999/74/EC (for laying hens), 2007/43/EC (for broilers), 2008/120/EC (for pigs), and 2008/119/EC (for calves). Transport and slaughter are covered by the Council Regulations (EC) No 1/2005 and (EC) No 1099/2009 respectively.

The EU has some of the ‘world’s highest standards of animal welfare’ (European Parliament, 2020). Indeed, the welfare of millions of animals has improved due to EU legislation (Committee on Petitions, 2017:9). However, the EU receives criticism as the majority of species lack specific legislation resulting in ‘some of the worst animal welfare problems’ persisting (Committee on Petitions, 2017:1). Many animals have ‘scarcely regulated’ living conditions while species specific legislation does not preclude issues such as tail docking in pigs nor leg disorders in broilers (Committee on Petitions, 2017:45). Directive 98/58/EC is criticised for being vague and using unscientific language (Committee on Petitions, 2017:47). The issue of non-compliance of EU Member States is rife (Vogeler, 2019:320).

UK

The majority of legislation on farmed animal welfare is based on EU law, though the UK has adopted some higher standards such as lower stocking densities and has prohibited sow stalls and barren battery cages for laying hens prior to similar EU action (UK Centre for Animal Law et al., 2018). As the UK has similar law this section focuses on English law only. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU means the TFEU, including Article 13 recognising animal sentience, ceases to be UK law (UK Centre for Animal Law, et al., 2018:10).

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 (‘the Act’) is the major piece of primary legislation covering animal welfare. The Act, based on the ‘five freedoms’, places a duty of care on the person responsible for the animals and liability for unnecessary suffering (Sweeney, 2017). Under Section 4 an offence is committed if an act or failure to act causes suffering, which one ought to know would cause suffering, and the suffering was unnecessary (Animal Welfare Act 2006). The Act allows for inspections, improvement notices, prosecution, and appropriate national authorities to make secondary legislation.

The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 is the leading regulation setting minimum standards for farmed animals (Sweeney, 2017:45-46). Schedule 1 of the regulations lists requirements almost identical to EU Directive 98/58/EC Annex from which the regulation was transposed (Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 and EU Directive 98/58/EC). Section 4 imposes compliance with Schedule 1 and, like EU Directive 98/58/EC, to have regard for the animals’ needs while additional duties in Section 5 apply for some species, namely: poultry, laying hens, calves, cattle, pigs and rabbits detailed in Schedules 2-9 (Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007).

Codes of Practice, created under Section 14 of the Act, are detailed documents on systems and husbandry techniques which include both legal requirements and good practice (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), 2015). Codes for laying hens, broilers, ducks, turkeys, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, deer and rabbits have been published (DEFRA, 2015). Breaches of codes do not themselves make a person liable however failures do carry evidential weight (Sweeney, 2017:44-45). The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 apply at slaughter.

Despite the UK’s high legal standards industrial farming systems can continue due to interpretation of what is ‘unnecessary suffering’ in the balance of the gains for man verses animal suffering, which often conflict (Collinson, 2018). Legitimate purpose and proportionality are important, however, it appears from some case law that suffering is considered necessary even if a system of husbandry causes inevitable suffering, provided the system is common and not prohibited (Collinson, 2018). In Roberts v. Ruggiero, [Unreported 3/4/85] the Divisional Court upheld a decision to dismiss a prosecution regarding a then-legal practice, refusing to consider evidence that less detrimental alternatives exist (Collinson, 2018 [online]). Many negative integral aspects of industrial farming pass the ‘necessary test’ (Tyler, 2016:3). It is also relevant to note that, as a matter of law, animals remain classed as property (Sweeney, 2017:5).

Criticism: Forgotten fish

In the specific legislation detailed above one animal group is clearly lacking; fish. While both the EU and UK offer some protection neither have specific farm welfare legislation for fish. Of the farmed animals fish are the least protected group (Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), 2020:2). Although fish meet the definition of animal in the Act (Animal Welfare Act 2006) they are excluded from farm animal regulations (Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007) in Section 3. The Fisheries Act does not mention welfare (Fisheries Act 2020). EU Directive 98/58/EC specifically includes fish as farmed animals yet excludes them from protection in Article 4 (EU Directive 98/58/EC). Without action fish will continue to suffer greatly (Levenda, 2013:6).

Conclusion

The EU and UK has some of the highest legislation and bans numerous negative practices. However, species specific legislation is lacking, particularly for fish, and current interpretation of ‘unnecessary suffering’ allows industrial farming to continue to the detriment of farmed animals.

References

Animal Welfare Act 2006, c. 45. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/45/contents [Accessed 16 November 2020].

Collinson, A. (2018) Legal protection of animals in the UK. Available at: https://www.animallaw.info/article/legal-protection-animals-uk. [Accessed 1 December 2020].

Committee on Petitions (2017) Animal Welfare in the European Union. Available at: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/74df7b49-ffe7-11e6-8a35-01aa75ed71a1. [Accessed 7 November 2020].

Compassion in World Farming (2020) Confused about fish labels? So are nearly two thirds of UK consumers. Available at: https://www.ciwf.org.uk/media/7441175/fish-certification-scheme-press-release.pdf. [Accessed 1 December 2020].

Council Directive 98/58/EC of 20 July 1998 concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes. [Online]. [Accessed 8 November 2020]. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A31998L0058

Council Directive 1999/74/EC of 19 July 1999 laying down minimum standards for the protection of laying hens. [Online]. [Accessed 2 December 2020]. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A31999L0074

Council Directive 2007/43/EC of 28 June 2007 laying down minimum rules for the protection of chickens kept for meat production. [Online]. [Accessed 2 December 2020]. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32007L0043&qid=1395748281997

Council Directive 2008/120/EC of 18 December 2008 laying down minimum standards for the protection of pigs. [Online]. [Accessed 2 December 2020]. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32008L0120

Council Directive 2008/119/EC of 18 December 2008 laying down minimum standards for the protection of calves. [Online]. [Accessed 2 December 2020]. Available at: https://eurlex.europa.
eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32008L0119

Council Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 of 24 September 2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing. [Online]. [Accessed 2 December]. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32009R1099

Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 of 22 December 2004 on the protection of animals during transport and related operations. [Online]. [Accessed 2 December 2020]. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A32005R0001

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) (2015) Farm animals: looking after their welfare. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/farm-animals-looking-after-their-welfare. [Accessed 11 November 2020].

European Commission (n.d.) Animal welfare. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/food/animals/welfare_en. [Accessed 14 November 2020]. 

European Parliament (2020) Animal welfare and protection: EU laws explained (videos). Available at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/society/20200624STO81911/
animal-welfare-and-protection-eu-laws-explained-videos. [Accessed 17 November 2020].

Fisheries Act 2020, c. 22. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2020/22/contents/enacted [Accessed 5 December 2020].

Levenda, K. (2013) Legislation to protect the welfare of fish. Available at: https://www.animallaw.info/sites/default/files/lralvol20_1_119.pdf. [Accessed 2 December 2020].

Sweeney, N. (2017) A practical approach to animal welfare law. 2^nd edn. Sheffield, 5M Publishing Ltd.

The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1782). Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1782/contents/made. [Accessed 5 November 2020].

The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/2078). Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2007/2078/contents/made [Accessed 5 November 2020].

Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 26 October 2012. [Online] Official Journal C 326. [Accessed 2 December 2020]. Available at:  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A12012E%2FTXT. 

Tyler, A. (2016) ‘Necessary’ suffering under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Animal Justice UK, 2, 3-4. Available at: https://www.alaw.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Animal-Justice-UK-Issue-2.pdf. [Accessed 7 November 2020].

UK Centre for Animal Law et al. (2018) Brexit: Getting the best deal for animals. Available at: https://www.alaw.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Brexit-Getting-the-Best-Deal-for-Animals-Full-Report.pdf. [Accessed 16 November 2020].

Vogeler, C. (2019) Why do farm animal welfare regulations vary between EU member states? A comparative analysis of societal and party political determinants in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. Journal of Common Market Studies, 57 (2), 317-335. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jcms.12794?saml_referrer. [Accessed 13 November 2020].