NEWS RELEASE
Date: 20 July 2007
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Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007
The Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 have been approved by Parliament and will come into force on 1 October 2007.
The new Regulations replace the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2000 (as amended) and are made under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The Act brings together and modernises existing animal welfare legislation relating to farmed and non-farmed animals.
As part of this rationalisation, Part 1 of the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1968, under which existing farm animal welfare legislation has been made, will be repealed on 1 October 2007 as relevant provisions have been incorporated into the Animal Welfare Act. In order to preserve the requirements of existing secondary farm animal welfare legislation, these replacement Regulations have had to be brought forward under the new Act.
The vast majority of the new Regulations replicate the 2000 Regulations. They continue to implement EU directives on the welfare of calves, pigs, laying hens and a general welfare framework directive, which sets down minimum standards for the protection of all farmed livestock. They also remove any duplication that previously existed between the Animal Welfare Act and the existing 2000 Regulations. For example, the duty of care provision and the ability to issue improvement notices are not included in these Regulations as they are now provided for in the Act.
The most significant change from the 2000 Regulations, arising from the fact that the Animal Welfare Act covers all animals under the control of man, is that the Regulations will apply for the first time to livestock kept on common land.
Guidance will shortly be issued to accompany the Regulations.
For more information see: (www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/default.htm)
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Page published: 20 July 2007