The Green Party is unique in
its deep commitment to the rights of animals. The assumption that animals exist
simply to be used for any human purpose is completely unacceptable and we consider
that “a compassionate and respectful relationship to other sentient creatures
is essential for human dignity and ultimately our own quality of life.” (Darren
Johnson, London Mayoral candidate)
The Green Party intends to
raise public awareness of the rights and needs of animals and would pass
appropriate legislation to inform the electorate and to enact policies aimed at
protecting animals from exploitation and violence. All animals, as sentient
beings, feel pain and distress and nonhuman animals, though they may do so in
silence, suffer from incarceration, callous and cruel treatment and the absence
of social bonds, just as we do. Animal rights are a central element of the
Green outlook and our wholehearted commitment to justice means that we must accord
to animals the equitable consideration due to them.
The fact that we consider
animals as products to be consumed makes the greatest impact on their lives.
850 million animals are killed to be used as food in the UK every year.
Factory-farmed animals suffer immensely, pushed well beyond their biological
limits, as profits are consistently prioritised over animal welfare. The
cellophane-wrapped packages in supermarkets, concealing the grim realities of
the life and death of farmed animals, serve to allow consumers to close their
eyes to suffering.
Broiler chickens, reared so
rapidly they suffer severe abnormalities of development, battery hens, crammed
into small cages, producing unnatural numbers of eggs each year, pigs farrowing
in narrow crates on bare floors, their piglets weaned abruptly and too soon,
are forced to suffer conditions in which all their natural instincts are
thwarted. The conclusion to this miserable existence is what can only be termed
industrial slaughter, in which intensive through-put often makes effective
stunning impossible.
Meat and dairy products,
however, are unnecessary and frequently unhealthy components of our diet,
containing high concentrations of saturated fat and cholesterol, conclusively
linked to heart disease, cancer and stroke. Many studies have shown that a
vegetarian or vegan diet is nutritious and healthy; the Green Party would
actively encourage a reduction in the consumption of meat and dairy products
and promote the consumption of healthy and ethically produced food, through,
for instance, the wider provision of vegetarian and vegan food in educational
establishments. This is very much in line with current recommendations by
nutritionists, as the incidence of obesity and weight-related diseases is on
the increase and children are particularly at risk.
The Green Party would phase
out all forms of intensive farming, prohibit the export of live animals and ban
the import of commodities not produced to UK standards. We would also work to
get World Trade Organisation rules changed, permitting bans on the basis of
cruelty. Animals are not industrial products, but sentient creatures, having
their own interests. The global reach of giant food and chemical companies
threatens to cause animal exploitation on a scale never before seen and we
recognise that it is essential to restrict free trade if we are to live
alongside, rather than at the expense of, other species.
Every year, nearly 3 million
animals are killed in British laboratories, as well as an undisclosed number
for military research. The pain and distress they suffer may be prolonged,
repeated and the majority receive no anaesthesia.
Public confidence in these
tests diminishes as their unreliability and misleading results affect human
health. Every species of animal is unique and each suffers different diseases
and reacts differently to drugs. Scores of drugs “proven safe” in animals go on
to harm and kill humans; in fact, 70,000 people suffer dangerous, often lethal,
reactions to their animal-tested medicines every year in England alone. This is
particularly disturbing when we know that there are many human-based scientific
methods of research available these days. The fact is that testing on animals
is a traditional and largely unquestioned technique, which benefits many
powerful companies and provides liability protection for the pharmaceutical
industry. There are many human-based scientific methods of research now
available, from clinical studies, autopsies and epidemiology to in vitro and in
silico research, mathematical and computer modelling, scanners and advanced
techniques for analysing blood and tracing the path of disease in the human
body.
The Green Party wholly
supports humane, as opposed to animal-based, research and would shift emphasis
from curative to preventive medicine. We are unhappy with the current
government approach – the so-called 3Rs – in that we consider Replacement to be
the priority; the Greens favour a strong, financial commitment to non-animal
research and would seek to make the UK the centre for such research. We would
press for reform of the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), to allow
implementation of animal protection legislation, including strict enforcement
of the ban on animal- based cosmetics tests.
We view with alarm the
patenting and genetic modification of animals and consider that
Xenotransplantation – the use of animal organs as spare parts for humans – to
be unacceptable; apart from the immorality of using animals as tools, the serious
possibility of virus transfer represents an unquantifiable hazard.
Despite continuing public
opposition, foxes, hares, deer and mink are still hunted in England and Wales.
These activities are often justified as a form of pest control, yet the truth
is that hunting has little effect on populations. Furthermore, if foxes and
hares are considered pests, it is difficult to understand why there is evidence
that they are protected specifically for the hunt.
The Green Party would ban all
hunting with hounds, coursing, shooting and snaring and would strive to promote
the wellbeing of all wild creatures. We would work actively to bring about an
end to angling through public education programmes.
Circuses which exploit
animals, whether wild or domesticated, are already unacceptable to many and the
Green Party would end this practice immediately. All animals used in sports
such as racing would be given extra protection; there are many cruel practices,
largely unknown to the public, inherent in these sports, so we consider that
they would need close monitoring.
Local authorities would be
required to appoint an Animal Rights/Protection Officer with adequate staff –
already started in London – and to devise and implement policies to protect
animals under their jurisdiction. The Brighton and Hove Green Councillors have
been instrumental in adopting an ethical buying policy for services, which
ensures that all products used are manufactured in an animal and
environmentally-friendly way. All council services would be audited to check
their impact on animal rights. Other areas in which there would be tighter
supervision are the acquiring of companion animals from pet shops and breeders,
the subsidising of neutering programmes and, in order to avoid the construction
of more factory farms and vivisection laboratories, close scrutiny of planning
applications.
Caroline Lucas MEP, the Green
Party’s Principal Speaker, is Vice President of the Cross Party Animal Welfare
Group in the European Parliament. The Green Party sees as vitally important
that Europe-wide regulations on the transport of live animals, often over
cruelly long distances in terrible conditions, be improved and properly
implemented. Caroline tabled amendments on new proposals, subsequently rejected
by the Council of Ministers, but continues to press for, ultimately, an end to
this unacceptable practice. The REACH system, aimed at the evaluation of
thousands of household chemicals, would subject millions of animals to toxicity
tests and she is lobbying to have humane alternatives accepted. She has also
worked to improve the conditions of life for broiler chickens, supported a
European moratorium on the use of Low Frequency Active Sonar, which annually
kills thousands of whales and dolphins, participated in last-ditch campaigns to
protect the Iberian Lynx and asked the European Parliament to introduce a
complete ban on the production, import and sale of cat and dog fur.
Green MEPs, already leading
the way in this sphere, will work for real progress on animal rights, including
a ban on the production, import and sale of battery eggs in the EU, improvement
and proper enforcement of the EU Habitat Directive, action to end the bushmeat
trade and an immediate ban on the use of primates, cats and dogs in animal
research.
… and beyond
Such is the Green Party’s
concern for the interests of other
species, that it will endeavour internationally to initiate and develop an
Animal Rights Division within the United Nations.
Environmental Impacts
Environmental impacts of the
exploitation of ever larger numbers of animals for food are becoming more
apparent. Fresh water is in increasingly short supply and 87% of it is used for
agriculture, mainly to grow fodder for animals. The production of 1 kg. of
animal protein takes 100 times more water than that needed for plant protein.
Climate change is now a very
real danger. Clearing land to grow soya for cattle releases high levels of carbon dioxide, nitrogen fertilisers increase levels of nitrous
oxide, methane emissions are produced by the animals and these are three of the
main greenhouse gases.
Not only our quality of life,
but our survival itself, is dependent upon compassion towards others; the will
to dominate, to oppress and exploit is inherently unstable and unsustainable.
It has been the norm in most human societies to use animals as though they had
no inherent value, no interests of their own and as though there was no need to
concern ourselves about them, except insofar as their continued existence
affected us and our wellbeing. The Greens challenge that mindset. We strongly
believe that, as fellow species, animals have a perfect right to share with us
this planet and its finite resources.
Animal Rights chapter - Green
Party European Election Manifesto, 2004, p17-18.
Animal
Rights chapter
Green
Party European Election Manifesto, 2004, p17-18.
The
Green Party believes that animals have rights that must be properly protected
in law. We need far-reaching change to UK and European policy in a range of
areas, including farming, scientific research, land use, habitats and
economics. Unsustainable practices and the over- consumption of resources are
destroying habitats and ecosystems – the vital support systems for all forms of
sentient life, human and animal alike.
Selective breeding and the ‘biotech revolution’ – farm animals growing
faster than their hearts can stand, cows producing drugs instead of milk and
laboratory mice developing cancers – reveal just how far we are moving away
from a safe, sustainable and ethical relationship with other sentient species.
In 1999, ten million animals were experimented on within the EU – over
half in the UK, France and Germany. Non-animal research methods remain barely
funded, and existing animal protection measures are poorly enforced. To address
this suffering, we need a much more progressive approach.
In the European Parliament, Green MEPs are leading the way. They have
pushed for a ban on live animal exports from the UK and the inclusion of animal
welfare in the EU constitution. They have introduced proposals to develop
non-animal testing methods and cut live animal transport time limits. They have
worked to ban cat and dog fur imports, sought to save the Iberian lynx and
demanded greater protection for whales.
We oppose all forms of factory farming, including fish farming, and
advocate the ending of animal experimentation.
Green MEPs will work for real
progress on animal rights, including:
• an end to live animal exports from the UK, and to EU live animal export
refunds
• new tougher laws to improve the on-farm welfare of broiler (meat)
chickens and pigs
• farm animals to be slaughtered as close as possible to the farm – and a
strict overall journey time limit to be implemented
• a ban on the production, import and sale of battery eggs in the EU
• strict EU-wide legislation for zoos, circuses and the pet trade
• improvement and proper enforcement of the EU Habitats Directive
• an ethical chemicals policy, with non-animal test strategies and an
immediate ban on animal-based toxicity testing, which is both unethical and
ineffective
• an immediate halt to xenotransplantation and genetic manipulation of
animals
• an immediate ban on the use of primates in animal research
• greater investment in non-animal research and promotion of ethical
health policies
• a ban on the import of all fur products – including cat and dog fur
• action to end the bushmeat trade.
World Trade Organisation rules are undermining animal protection
legislation on fur, cosmetics testing, and factory farming. Global trade rules
need changing to include animal welfare criteria – so that the import of
products can be banned on the basis of animal suffering.30
Our
MEPs’ achievements so far ...
Green Party MEPs consistently put animal
welfare high on the European agenda. Caroline Lucas, as Vice-President of the
European Parliament’s Animal Welfare group, proposed an entirely non-animal
test strategy for chemicals testing as Greens are opposed to animal toxicity
testing. Her Parliamentary Question helped increase funding for the validation
of non-animal test methods.
Caroline has also campaigned to end the trade
in cat and dog fur and for a ban on the import of seal fur. She has tabled
amendments to new EU animal transport legislation to allow countries to ban
live exports.
Jean Lambert initiated the process that
convinced Parliament to call for an Action Plan to tackle the ‘bushmeat’ trade
in endangered species and both Members have called on the European Commission
to radically reform the Common Fisheries Policy and tackle the by-catch of
birds, dolphins and porpoises.
ENDS