Author
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Lay Jr, Donald |
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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2001 Publication Date: 6/1/2001 Citation: LAY JR, D.C. A COMPARISON OF EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN POLICIES ON PIG PRODUCTION. MEETING ABSTRACT. 2001. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: The most notable difference in comparing European and American policies is that the Europeans have established their policies with law, whereas the Americans have been very resistant to creating many laws to govern animal welfare. The U.S. does have the Animal Welfare Act which is a National Law, however all states have their own laws as well. And in fact, the U.S. puritans established the U.S. as one of the first countries to enact statutory legislation to protect animals from cruel treatment. And in 1871, upon reports of cruel transportation conditions, a bill was introduced into Congress to regulate cattle transportation. This bill was passed in 1873, and became known as the "Twenty-Eight Hour Law". In 1958, Eisenhower signed the Humane Slaughter bill into law. Similar to the U.S. Federal and State regulations, the European Union (EU) sets minimum requirements and each country can have more stringent requirements. Their first rules adopted in 1986 concerned the protection of laying hens. In 1998, a directive was adopted for the protection of animals kept for farming purposes, for all species including fish, reptiles, and amphibians.In 2001 the EU announced an amendment to ban the use of gestation stalls by 2013. The U.S. has followed the U.K. by about 20 years in terms of animal welfare actions. However, the dimensions of the industry will likely lead to a greater lag in changes. Globalization will drive the world to a standard set of welfare guidelines. |
