Regulation, Law and Animal Health and Welfare The role of legal regulation GOLD John McEldowney, School of Law, University of Warwick.

Regulation and Law EU Law and regulation UK Animal Health and Welfare Strategy Science and Law Regulation and its likely form Conclusions

EU and Animal Welfare Article 2(21)Treaty of Lisbon (if ratified) will make animal health and welfare part of the provisions of general application of the new Treaty and counted as a Community competence; This will greatly strengthen animal protection from the current Article 30 EC and also the Declaration on the Protection of Animals under TEU (1992); the Protocol on the Protection and Welfare of Animals (10 March 1976 and adopted by the Council (EEC) 78/923); Case law of the ECJ to date, the ECJ has been reluctant to elevate animal welfare into any protection under Community law: Case C- 189/01 Jippes [2001] ERCI-5689; Today, however, there is general recognition that animal welfare is a community interest and should be protected under community law.This is a major shift in law and policy; EU Community Health Policy expected 2009 – UK legislation expected by Autumn 2009.

Legal Regulation Consistency with EU and international obligations; Risk assessment in terms of foreseeable risk; Sharing of costs to take account affordability and competitive; Flexibility and the use of best science and evidence.

Legal regulation: EU Policy and UK Law EU Animal Health Strategy 2007 to 2013; Action plan in 2008: prioritisation of EU intervention; UK Legislation in 2009; Improving economic competitiveness; Setting up an animal health regulatory framework; Disease prevention and sustainable development strategy.

UK Legislation: Animal Health Act 2006-There are requirements to take reasonable steps to ensure that an animal’s needs are met; Welfare of Farmed Animals ( England) Regulations 2007 codify much EU regulation and law; Minimum standards are set and since 1997( Treaty of Lisbon Protocol) full regard must be given to policies and principles when considering animal welfare.

Common Problems facing animal health and welfare strategies Lack of coordination among farmers within a nation state; Lack of co-ordination among states; The presence of a particular disease in wildlife reservoir and there is limited scientific understanding of the wildlife- livestock-pathogen interaction;

Eradication or disease control?: a legal perspective Legal intervention may act as both a regulatory mechanism as well as an educative tool; The law requires some simplification and codification- the UK and New Zealand have shown the way in new legislation; The Jippes case limits the enhancement of animal health – what is proportionate and necessary ? Legal regulation needs to be co-ordinated and to facilitate policy implementation.

Regulating animal health: UK Approach Issue of who pays? The role of law and lawyers; Litigation strategies and pressure groups.

Research Issues: Economic evaluation of disease control by farmers in the light of their behavioural beliefs and of constraints; Economic evaluation of the role of government and of market actors in farm-level disease control (i.e., role of incentive structures); Evaluation of the degree of farmers’ behavioural response to changes in the rate of farm level disease prevalence; Evaluation of the change in the rate of disease prevalence over time in response to farmers’ behavioural changes;

The role of law and science Science based decision making; The role of risk assessment; Public awareness and confidence in science and in legal regulation; Risk assessment and science separated from risk management and policy making; Regaining of public trust in science and law and in the decision-making process.

Conclusions: Choice and design of an appropriate regulatory system; Evaluating Legal Rules within the context of EU Policy making; Designing the appropriate model of regulation that fits national economic and cultural norms.

Regulating in an EU and global context Animal Health and Welfare Strategy places good health and welfare as a sustainable necessity for the livestock industry; The current legislation places responsibilities on owners for a pro-active response to health care; This is also linked to cost sharing, the role of vets; the role of good risk assessment and sound science; A regulatory approach, with a potential role for a regulatory structure for animal health might encourage public confidence and ensure sound science is at the centre of good decision-making.