Member states must enforce the EU Animal Welfare Strategy or it simply won’t work

The BVA has welcomed changes by the European Commission’s new Animal Welfare Strategy but highlights the need for robust, transparent enforcement of proposed measures to ensure their effectiveness.

Member states typically suffer no penalties for failing to enforce proposals, there are no real economic incentives to upholding them leading to a dramatic effect on animal welfare.

The BVA, whilst positive about the new proposals, commented that they don’t do enough to protect companion animals and dairy cattle.

Read the proposals on the European Commission website.

Europe agrees with measures to tighten controls to prevent tapeworm in the UK

New regulations will enforce dogs are treated in 1-5 days before entering from a listed country. Echinococcus multilocularis (EM) is widespread with only the UK, Finland, Ireland and Malta completely free. EM is a concern for both animal and human welfare, causing potentially fatal illness to owners.

Whilst the new regulations are welcome, they cannot prevent all cases alone. Ensure owners are aware of the risks of tapeworm when travelling, and the importance of keeping the disease out of the UK.

€245, 000 has been granted to the RCVS to develop its Nursing Progress Log (NPL) for use in the EU. The NPL is currently used as part of the Level 3 Diploma in the UK.

The system would allow remote training of veterinary nurses and mentors, providing accessible training across the EU for student nurses.

For full information on the NPL, please click here.

MEPs signed a contract allowing a €2m grant into the viability and effectiveness of homeopathic treatment in farm animals. There is currently no definitive proof as to the effectiveness of homeopathic treatment.

BVA President Harvey Locke commented:

“Millions of Euros have already been spent on trying to prove the scientific efficacy of homeopathic medicines. To date we have not seen any data to prove they can be effective in the treatment of bacterial infections.

“Whilst it is unlikely that €2 million will be able to determine whether or not there is a basis for claiming homeopathic products can work, we welcome European investment in veterinary research and hope that the results of the pilot will be useful.”

Using taxpayers’ money for research into treatment that has no conclusive evidence of working has angered a number of MEPs, with some condemning the measure as ‘sheer madness’. Overuse of antibiotics and prevalence of MRSA have been cited as a leading factor in this research.