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Animal Welfare vs Free Trade - Free Trade Wins: An Examination of the Animal Welfare Implications of R v Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food exp Compassion in World Farming (1998)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

S Brooman  and
D Legge
S Brooman*
Affiliation:
Liverpool John Moores University, School of Law and Applied Social Studies, 1 Myrtle Street, Liverpool L7 4DN, UK
D Legge
Affiliation:
Liverpool John Moores University, School of Law and Applied Social Studies, 1 Myrtle Street, Liverpool L7 4DN, UK
*
† Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints
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Abstract

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The European Union (EU) has often been regarded as a prime mover in the cause of improved animal welfare. There is a great deal of European legislation to support this contention. This article discusses a recent case brought by the UK Government under Article 177 of the Treaty of Rome 1957 which challenges the assumption that EU law always favours animal welfare. We suggest that free trade is the driving force behind EU legislation and that where this conflicts with animal welfare, free trade is usually preferred.

Keywords

animal welfareEuropean Unionfree tradeveal crates
Type
Short Communication
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , February 2000 , pp. 81 - 85
Copyright
© 2000 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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