THE Countryside Alliance has demanded safeguards be put in place to stop the Governments proposed Animal Sentience Committee from becoming weaponised and being used to attack proper wildlife management.
The groups concerns were echoed by MPs who have been debating the six-clause Animal Welfare (Sentience) Bill as it makes its way through Parliament. Worries centre on the formation of an Animal Sentience Committee which would examine whether all due regard has been paid to the welfare of animals during any policy formation.
The Government has described the proposed committee as an accountability mechanism, but has as yet failed to state who will make up the panel. As a result, rural campaigners, along with some MPs and peers, have expressed fears it could be hijacked by animal rights activists who want to undermine farming and rural life.
James Legge, director of Public Affairs at the Countryside Alliance, said that while the group fully supported the legal recognition of the sentience of animals,it shared the widespread concerns about the construct of the committee itself.
The Bill lacks the necessary detail to ensure the Sentience Committee cannot be hijacked or extend its reach beyond its legally defined role, said Mr Legge. There must be safeguards in place to ensure that the committee cannot be weaponised and used to attack proper wildlife management, farming or the economic well-being and way of life of our rural communities.
Speaking in the Commons last week, Conservative MP for South Dorset Richard Drax said: This is a bad Bill, an unnecessary Bill, and a Trojan horse for those who have no understanding and sadly in some cases despise the countryside and all that goes on in it. He continued: I and many others fear that those with different agendas, often partisan and politically motivated, will hijack this committee and its role to attack activities like shooting and fishing.
His concerns were echoed by Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Conservative MP for the Cotswolds who was concerned the Bill could give animal rights groups another weapon to damage both government and those who live and work with animals.
The Bill will now go to a committee for more detailed scrutiny which is due to end by February 10.
