Farm animal welfare legislation in europe

Extract

There is mounting concern for the welfare of farm animals in all the countries of the European Community and the members states of the Council of Europe. The rapid increase in intensive management systems of poultry, pigs, cattle and fur-bearing animals has been the subject of heated debate in every European country. The publication of Ruth Harrison's book, Animal Machines, a quarter of a century ago, can now be seen as the starting point for the increasing demands for legislation to control what are seen to be new and unnecessarily restrictive ways of keeping farm animals. In the United Kingdom, as long ago as 1965, the Brambell Committee made recommendations that were largely ignored. Animal welfare societies increasingly called for legislation to control the situation. Society generally, on the other hand, welcomed the provision of cheap eggs, cheap poultry meat and relatively cheap dairy products.