Working within the law
- Localización: Veterinary Record, ISSN-e 2042-7670, Vol. 176, Nº. 24, 2015, págs. 608-608
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
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Resumen
MENTION of new EU animal health legislation is unlikely to set many pulses racing, particularly in the UK, where attention is so firmly focused on the Government's plans for an in or out referendum. Nevertheless, news that the European Parliament, Commission and Council have reached political agreement on a new animal health law (see p 609 of this issue) is significant, not least because, irrespective of the outcome of the referendum, it will affect animal health activity, including veterinary activity, for years to come.
The legislation, which is expected to be adopted in 2016, has had a long gestation. It aims to provide a framework for implementing the EU's Animal Health Strategy, which was agreed by EU member states in 2007. This had been proposed in 2004, partly in response to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak of 2001. As the then European Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner, Markos Kyprianou, remarked at the time, ‘The devastating social and economic consequences of diseases like foot-and-mouth disease or avian influenza demonstrate the importance of a strong and effective animal health policy at EU level’ (VR, May 27, 2006, vol 158, p 709). With its motto ‘Prevention is better than cure’, the EU Animal Health Strategy aimed to provide such a policy by putting greater emphasis on activities such as disease surveillance, biosecurity and research in reducing the incidence of animal diseases and minimising the impact of disease outbreaks. It also focuses on issues linked to animal health, such as food safety, sustainable development and animal welfare.1
