Animal Welfare And Animal Rights

EDM number 724 in 1996-97, proposed by David Steel on 20/03/1997.

That this House welcomes the publication this week by the Countryside Movement of a charter on animal welfare; recognises and welcomes the growing public concern for this subject and believes the charter has served the public interest well in drawing attention to the clear distinction between the proper and vigilant promotion of animal welfare and the campaigns of animal rights organisations, often masquerading as welfare organisations; notes that these organisations have been trying to buy influence in the political parties with donations to the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats and the supplying of researchers and calls attention in particular to the massive donation of ú1,000,000 to the Labour Party by the International Fund for Animal Welfare; notes that this coincided with a pledge by that party to offer government time for a bill to ban hunting and that the donation has been followed by threats from Labour spokesmen of executive action to ban hunting on Ministry of Defence and Forestry Commission lands as well as by votes of councillors of all parties to ban hunting on certain local authority lands; and notes the statement of Mr Ben Ponton, national spokesman of the Hunt Saboteurs Association, that 'we're starting a fundamental shift in orientation to take in shooting and fishing'.

This motion has been signed by a total of 1 MPs.