FAWC Response to the Consultation on Defra’s Response to the Eves Review of the Animal Health and Welfare Delivery Landscape

Both the Eves review and the Defra response highlight some important areas for potential improvement in the efficiency and effectiveness of the animal health and welfare delivery landscape.

1. As regards Recommendation 4 of the Eves review, that delivery partners should be consulted before the next round of PSA targets for animal health and welfare is settled, this is highly desirable and indeed wider consultation may also be useful. The current Public Sector Agreement Target 9 priorities are narrow and do not include any explicit targets for protection or improvement of animal welfare, which is an omission.

2. Theme 1 of the Defra response does not make reference to Recommendation 42 of the Eves review that collaboration with farm assurance schemes should be explored.

3. In principle, FAWC supports Eves’ (and previously Hampton’s) recommendations for a strengthened, unified national animal (health and welfare) protection agency (‘a thematic authority’) with the State Veterinary Service (now Animal Health) ‘a pivotal component at its centre’. FAWC is currently considering this suggestion in much greater detail, particularly  regarding the nature of the authority and its powers and responsibilities. FAWC believes that Defra should give full consideration to this recommendation to determine how and whether such a body could simplify and integrate the animal health and welfare delivery landscape, thereby ensuring greater transparency and accountability with improved delivery performance.

Such an authority would need to be compatible with future responsibility and cost sharing agreements for implementation of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy (and the Animal Welfare Delivery Strategy and future Action Plan) with industry partners and provide efficiency improvements and cost savings consistent with Better Regulation.

Farm Animal Welfare Council