New animal welfare legislation proposed
BETTER legislation for the protection of wild and domestic animals has been proposed by the Environment & Infrastructure committee, as current regulations are almost 15 years out of date.
The suggested changes will require all veterinary staff to be registered, regulate the types of traps used, sold or owned, the farming of animal for fur, feathers or hide as a primary product, and the use of animals for entertainment.
‘It’s been 10 to 15 years since we last updated our animal welfare legislation and we need to make sure we are keeping it up to date and are aligned with the modernisations that have happened in other jurisdictions, most importantly the UK,’ said E&I president Lindsay de Sausmarez.
‘There have been some developments in the last decade or so and the scientific understanding of animal sentience has really evolved, so we’ve got a much better understanding of what is humane and what isn’t.
‘Animal welfare is one of the environmental considerations that has a direct bearing on our free trade agreements whether that’s by extension through the UK or in our own rights.’
Some of the proposed prohibitions are not currently in existence in the island, but legislation is required to state that it is not allowed, as, for example, if someone were to open up a fur farm.
‘If we are the one place in Europe where zoo animals can be used for performances, then we might just find people coming here to pitch up,’ said States Vet David Chamberlain.
‘We need to cover these things off so people know explicitly what they are not allowed to do.
‘The regulations surrounding zoos and dangerous animals are very complex, so at least if we start to cover some of these things off, we can explicitly say that something is not allowed.’
A variety of inhumane traps are still used in the island, due to the lack of legislation stating they are banned, or people generally being unaware.
The policy letter proposes to ban snares, leg hold traps, glue traps and artificial lights or illuminating devices for capture or slaughter,
‘There is a massive ban on leg hold traps in most countries in Europe, but because we haven’t explicitly banned them, there’s potential that people may use them,’ said Mr Chamberlain.
‘We’ve banned the use of snares, which you think no one uses in Guernsey, but in May a cat was caught in a snare in St Martin’s and had to receive veterinary treatment, so these things are still around.
‘Things are changing very quickly in the world of animal sentience, we have recently discovered certain crustaceans are sentient, so they can be afforded more protection.’
Prior to submitting the proposal, organisations such as the GSPCA, the RSPB, La Societe and local vets were consulted, and nothing included was objected to.
One of the main driving forces behind updating the legislation was to align with welfare standards in the UK and other trading partners in a post-Brexit context.
