A while ago I received a letter from PETA, “People for Ethical Treatment of Animals”, which claims to be the largest animal welfare organisation in the world.  I see it more as an animal rights organisation than animal welfare, and there is a real difference.  Its primary focus appears to be on political campaigning, rather

One of the advances made when Franz Fischler was farm commissioner was to recognise farm animals as sentient beings rather than agricultural products. This provided a basis for treating animal welfare as one of the planks of multifunctionality. However, a vet who is an animal welfare expert suggested in a talk (under Chatham House rules) that I attended that this could face a challenge under WTO r...

Plaid Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones AM, has launched guidance to protect animal welfare. Wales is the first country in the UK to publish guidance on the welfare of dogs, cats and horses in a bid to inform people of the responsibility, time and cost that looking after an animal entails. ... full story

Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott has confirmed that his party has brought forward a motion to the Assembly asking that legislation in Northern Ireland be updated in relation to animal welfare as it is currently falling behind the rest of the UK.

Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott has called upon the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to urgently review Northern Ireland's animal welfare standards. During a debate tabled by the UUP, Tom Elliott spoke of the 'catastrophic failings' which currently exist in the current welfare legislation.

One unexpected (well, I didn't even know the group existed) success story at Facebook is the Save Capstone Park group, which has over 1,300 members. Worth knowing if ou are a Facebook user and have an interest in this important local issue...

It’s time that medical researchers were unequivocal in putting human need ahead of animal-welfare concerns.

One of the blogs I follow contains the thoughts of Mr Stan. He has written about a recent report that people are abandoning their pets to animal welfare organisations because they cannot afford to keep them. The specific point he addresses is vets' bills. I am not an animal man unless the animal is in front of me on a plate, with gravy, I have never had a pet and do not understand the concept...

Fresh from the most successful decade of regulating banks since time began, come this, from The Metro: A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "The Animal Welfare Act makes it an offence for an owner or keeper to fail to provide for their animal's welfare - this applies to circuses as to anyone else. In addition it is also an offence, under the Ani...

Plaid MEP Jill Evans has joined animal rights campaigners in the European Parliament in Strasbourg to support a review of the law on animal testing and a ban on testing on primates. The Welsh MEP is a long standing campaigner against unnecessary animal testing and author of a report adopted by the European Parliament in 2003 which highlighted the urgent need to European laws on animal testing. The...