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EmailIphone Application    Posted: 10th January 2012
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EU Commission launches legal proceedings
Fourteen states sued over battery cage egg ban.

The European Commission has announced that it will be bringing legal proceedings against fourteen member states in the coming weeks in response to their failure to enforce the EU-wide battery cage egg ban. EU Inspection Teams will be visiting all member states to collect evidence of non-compliance with legislation to support legal action and subsequent fines.

EU Health Commissioner John Dalli informed Ministers by letter in November that infringement proceedings would be launched against any country which failed to meet the January 1st2012 deadline to convert all conventional battery cages into improved 'enriched' cages or better. Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Spain have all failed to meet the deadline.

The Commission's latest figures record that 46.7 million hens are still in conventional battery cages across Europe in spite of the ban. This constitutes 14 per cent of the Continent's entire flock.

UK farmers have objected to the trading advantage that non-compliance confers. Commenting on the news, Katy Lee, spokesman for UK farming unions in Brussels urged the Commission to act said “In good faith the UK poultry industry has fully complied with the new laws on the welfare of laying hens and now we are told 14 Member States have failed to meet the deadline. This is unacceptable.”

“We are pleased the Commission has begun legal proceedings against non-compliant Member States although it does feel like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. It is now essential that the Commission wastes no time in stamping out the illegal production and enforces large enough fines to discourage a similar scenario in the future.”

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Strangles survey seeks views of horse owners

News Story 1
 With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.

The survey, which has been designed by Dechra, aims to raise awareness of Strangles and promote best practices to prevent its transmission. It includes questions about horse owners' experiences of strangles, together with preventative measures and vaccination.

Respondents to the survey will be entered into a prize draw to win two VIP tickets to Your Horse Live 2025. To access the survey, click here 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Vivienne Mackinnon elected BVA Scottish Branch President

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has elected Vivienne Mackinnon as its new BVA Scottish Branch president.

Dr Mackinnon has over 30 years of experience in veterinary care, encompassing both small animal and mixed practice. She has worked in practices in Scotland, England, New Zealand and Australia, before joining APHA to work in frontline disease control.

In her speech, Dr Mackinnon reflected on the changes in Scotland's veterinary industry and highlighted her commitment to veterinary education.

Dr Mackinnon said: "I look forward to working with colleagues across the veterinary professions to improve animal health and welfare in the country and support veterinary workplaces."