4th October 2006

Animal Welfare Report Makes History

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On World Animal Day, the RSPCA launched the first report of its type in 200 years of RSPCA work – The state of animal welfare in the UK 2005. The report acts as a benchmark to show how the welfare of animals is improving – or worsening – today and in years to come.

The groundbreaking report features 25 indicators that highlight a whole host of animal welfare issues. Issues such as how animals are treated, how they are viewed by society, what legislation exists to protect them and how this is enforced are symbolic of the state of society itself. A critical assessment of each issue demonstrates improvements that need to be made, and highlights the positive impact of legislation, public attitudes and understanding of these key animal welfare issues.

A traffic light indicator system is used in the report and reveals the areas of animal welfare that are improving, standing still or getting worse. The report awards six green lights (improvements), six red (worsening), nine amber (unchanged or negligible) and 10 grey (insufficient or no data is available).

RSPCA head of external affairs David Bowles said, ‘This historic report is vitally important, not only as it is the first time animal welfare has actually been measured in the UK, but also to feed into government policy and inform decision-makers and stakeholders.’

The report acknowledges how animal welfare affects everybody in society and focuses on four direct animal categories - the welfare of animals used in research and testing, farm animal welfare, wildlife, and pet animals - it also contains a generic chapter that highlights indirect factors that influence animal welfare.

Some key highlights of the report include:

Number of imported wild-taken reptiles and birds (page 35 of report)

Almost all the indicators in this area are up, which is a very worrying trend. The RSPCA wants far stricter regulations to prevent the import of vulnerable animals into the UK.

Corporate and Social Responsibility (CSR) policies (page 8)

In March 2006, just 16 of the FTSE 100 companies had some form of policy that concerned animal welfare. The companies specifically focus on the following aspects of animal welfare - animal experiments, farm animals and fishing. Of these 16 companies, 13 aim to improve animal welfare.

The number of non-human primates used in scientific procedures in the UK (page 21)

The Home Office Statistics of Scientific Procedures on Living Animals 2005 quotes the number of non-human primates (mostly marmosets and macaques) used for procedures during 2005 as 3,120. Across the EU that figure is nearer 10,000. The RSPCA believes that there must be an immediate coordinated strategy to end non-human primate experiments.

Production of UK non-caged eggs (page 47)

With a 27% increase in the number of eggs produced in alternative systems in 2005 compared to 2001, consumers have clearly influenced egg production. However, about 19 million hens in the UK are still kept in battery cages that don’t meet the welfare needs of the birds.

Number of unwanted healthy animals taken into RSPCA care (page 59)

In 2001, 97,541 healthy animals entered RSPCA care. In 2005 this had dropped to 74,823. The RSPCA believes that that figure is still far too high. Alarmingly, the report reveals the increase in welfare concerns and the lack of a rise in microchipped animals. With the new Animal Welfare Act soon to become law, the level of responsible pet ownership, which is key to improving welfare, still needs to increase significantly.