Campaign for better animal welfare

[crazywiggy]

Having just rediscovered my motivation for campaigning I would like to ask a favour...

With the new Animal Welfare Act in the UK comes the potential for secondary legislation and codes of practice. There are some issues already on the agenda - such as performing animals and pet shops. We need to act now to ensure that all these new regulation actually protect animals.

Please write to DEFRA telling them what you want to see from the secondary legislation. This could include banning the use of all animals in circuses, banning the sale of animals (or at the very least dogs and cats) in pet shops etc. I would also suggest asking them to bring in codes of practice for small animals like rabbits and guinea pigs, such as minimum cage sizes etc.

The new Act really gives us the opportunity to do a world of good for animal welfare - please make the most of it and get writing!

(Check out the DEFRA website for info and contact details)

[Maisiepaisie]

I think this is a great idea and I intend to get writing this weekend. I would love to see new laws brought in about minimum cage sizes. If hutches could be banned it would also stop lots of guinea pigs from being kept outdoors. I realise this is a lot to hope for but I don't think its an impossible dream. Here is the link about the secondary legislation Defra, UK - Animal Health and Welfare - Animal Welfare - Animal Welfare Act
Besides writing to DEFRA, does anyone have any more ideas how we might bring about new laws regarding cage sizes?

[FoolOnTheHill]

Good idea, but I really don't think they will ban hutches and inforce a minimum cage size. There must be tens of thousands of people who worship their hutches not to mention breeders, who will obviously complain. Seeing as the RSPCA recommends hutches for housing I can't imagine anything happening. Cage size, maybe, but I think it's only fair for their to be minimums for all animals which isn't going to happen. I would also think you'd like the minimum to be 7.5sq ft? I expect a very small minority of people think this is the minimum as tons of pigs and breeder pigs are kept in tiny cages and are apparently healthy and happy (according to their owners).

I think the pet shops would be a good area for more laws concerning welfare etc. I thought dogs and cats were already banned from being sold in pet shops?
I just thing it's a great idea but it's probably just not really feasible. Of course we can always try but I just wouldn't get my hopes up about anything like that changing.

[Maisiepaisie]

Are there not some studies that show that guinea pigs are happier with the minimum sizes stated on this site? If so please could anyone link me to this and also any similar studies regarding rabbit housing. I'm afraid I'm not very knowledgeable about other animals so maybe I ought to stick to guinea pigs and rabbits, which I think are the most common animals to be housed completely inadequately. I didn't know the RSPCA recommend hutches. Maybe writing to them with the information would help also.

This is what the new animal welfare law is about

It makes owners and keepers responsible for ensuring that the welfare needs of their animals are met.
These include the need:

1. For a suitable environment (place to live)
2. For a suitable diet
3. To exhibit normal behaviour patterns
4. To be housed with, or apart from, other animals (if applicable)
5. To be protected from pain, injury, suffering and disease

Defra, UK - Animal Health and Welfare - Animal Welfare - Animal Welfare Act

I don't see how hutches or petstore cages can be classed as a suitable living environment. They also prevent guinea pigs and rabbits from exhibiting normal behaviour patterns (running, foraging, popcorning)

I will also go for a ban on all live animals being sold in pet shops. This seems to be more acheivable but I feel strongly that cage size is an issue that needs to be addressed. There are so many people housing guinea pigs and rabbits inadequately. Even I was one of them once. There needs to be more information available to prospective care givers.

[crazywiggy]

I think they would consider bringing in minimum cage sizes - although obviously they would probably still be smaller than we would like.

I say this because most of the indoor rabbit cages for sale in the UK would not be legal to use in a UK laboratory! (The code of practice for the housing and care of lab animals gives minimum requirements for all common lab species (mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, GPs etc). I was shocked when I realised that most pet store cages are below the legal lab minimum!) I would certainly emphasise the animals need to be able to express natural behaviours, as this just isn't possible in a small cage.

Sadly there are still pet shops selling puppies and kittens in the UK, so I guess they are currently still legal.

I have also written to pet shops and cage manufacturers asking them to make/sell bigger cages and discontinue the sale of the smaller ones. No one has made any changes so far, but at least they know people are concerned.