News
THE BIRD WELFARE STRATEGY GROUP
The Chief Veterinarian Officer Nigel Gibbens for Defra invited all
members of the Companion Animal Strategy group, which is made up
representatives from the Bird, Reptile, Rabbit and Fish sectors, to
a meeting at Defra Headquarters. This was to hear how he would like
to see this project develop, now that the England Implementation
Group has been disbanded. There was no formal agenda, but the
discussion was around further developing the strategy approach begun
by the EIG, with each strategy group identifying where they actually
are in terms of health and welfare, and identifying topics within
the strategy which can be developed as action points.
Speaking for the bird sector (also the other sectors), I felt that
getting good quality information out would be a major step forward
addressing health and welfare - so the ongoing development of
overarching Good Practice Guidelines and the production of specific
care sheets should continue. It was agreed that veterinarian Peter
Scott should continue to leave the whole companion Animal Group
reporting direct to the Chief Veterinarian officer thus, as it were,
cutting out the middle tier and making the whole process leaner and
quicker.
The codes of practice for Cats, Dogs and privately kept Primates has
been completed and will go before Parliament before the 6th April
next year and work has already begun on live animals in circuses.
However we were told that with the forthcoming election there would
be no more work done on other sections until a new Government is
installed and Mr Gibbens said that would give us a good time window
to complete our own Best Practice Guidelines for Birds so when this
area was revisited by Defra a BPG would already be in place.
Colin O'Hara, Chairman Bird Welfare Strategy group, 15 December,
2009