Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare

The Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW) is a proposed inter-governmental agreement to recognise that animals are sentient and can suffer, to respect their welfare needs and to end animal cruelty.

It is proposed that a UDAW be adopted by the United Nations. If endorsed by the UN (as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was) the UDAW would be a non-binding set of principles that acknowledges the importance of the sentience of animals and human responsibilities towards them. The principles were designed to encourage and enable national governments to introduce and improve animal protection legislation and initiatives.

It has been argued that a UDAW is consistent with, and could help secure the achievement of, the UN Millennium Development Goals. [See No.6 of [http://www.udaw.org/gov/pdf/en/en_qa.pdf "Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare – Questions and Answers"] ] [ [http://www.re-public.gr/en/?p=161 Article by Sir David Madden] on Re-public website, accessed 5 August 2008]

This should not be confused with the Universal Declaration on Animal Rights (UDAR).

History

The UDAW was conceived by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), which now acts as its Secretariat. It is supported by four main partners: the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Compassion in World Farming, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). [ [http://www.hsus.org/about_us/humane_society_international_hsi/international_policy/united_nations/hsi_animals_matter_to_me.html HSI Supports "Animals Matter to Me" Campaign] from HSUS website, accessed 5 August 2008]

In 2003, the Manila Conference on Animal Welfare was attended by 19 government delegations with the European Council, United States and Saipan as observers. A foundation text for a UDAW was agreed. [ [http://www.udaw.org/gov/pdf/en/en_draft.pdf Initial draft text arising from the Manila Conference on Animal Welfare (2003) and the Costa Rica Steering Committee Meeting (2005)] accessed 5 August 2008]

In 2005, the UDAW inter-governmental steering committee was formed and representatives of the governments of Kenya, India, Costa Rica , Czech Republic and the Republic of the Philippines agreed to champion the initiative. They lead a group of governments whose officials have stated support in the following years, including Australia, Cambodia, Fiji, [ [http://www.fiji.gov.fj/publish/page_12454.shtml 28/7/08 - Fiji to support Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW)] on Fiji Government Online Portal, accessed 5 August 2008] Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, [ [http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/publications/biosecurity-magazine/issue-79/oie 'Animal welfare and the OIE’] in "Biosecurity Magazine", Issue 79, 1 November 2007, accessed 5 August 2008] Poland, Slovenia, Tanzania, and the UK.

In 2007, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) decided to support a UDAW, [ [http://www.udaw.org/gov/pdf/oie_resolution.pdf OIE Resolution No. XIV] accessed 5 August 2008] as did the Commonwealth Veterinary Association (CVA) [See [http://www.bva.co.uk/profession/overseas/worldwide/overseas_diary.asp Commonwealth Veterinary Association (CVA) adopts Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW)] on BVA website, accessed 5 August 2008] and the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe (FVE). [ [http://www.udaw.org/gov/pdf/fve_resolution.pdf Letter of support for UDAW from Federation of Veterinarians of Europe] accessed 5 August 2008] In August 2008, the national veterinary associations of Chile, New Zealand, the UK, [See [http://www.bva.co.uk/press/2008/world_veterinary_day_2008.asp 23 April 2008: Global responsibilities for animal welfare: BVA President calls on the veterinary community to sign up to UDAW] on BVA website, accessed 5 August 2008] the Philippines, Thailand [ [http://www.worldvet.org/displayarticle4361.html 'WSAVA Member Association Updates: BVA and VPAT sign Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare (UDAW)'] on World Veterinary Association website, accessed 5 August 2008] and Colombia have all given public backing for a UDAW. In April 2008, Eric Martlew MP put forward an early day motion in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom that “calls upon the Government to give its full and publicly-stated support for this initiative, including active support within the European Union and the United Nations.” [ [http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=35732&SESSION=891 Text of EDM 1467] accessed 5 August 2008]

Overview of the proposed declaration

A draft text of the declaration calls for:
*Recognition that animals are living, sentient beings and therefore deserve due consideration and respect
*Recognition that animal welfare includes animal health, and that veterinarians have an essential role in maintaining both the health and welfare of animals
*Recognition that humans inhabit this planet with other species and other forms of life and that all forms of life co-exist within an interdependent ecosystem
*Recognition of the importance of the ongoing work of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) in setting global standards for animal welfare
*Agreement that the term ‘state’ includes people and civil society
*Acknowledgment that many states already have a system of legal protection for animals, both domestic and wild
*Seeking to ensure the continued effectiveness of these systems and the development of better and more comprehensive animal welfare provisions
*Acknowledgement that the humane use of animals can have major benefits for humans
*Awareness that the Five Freedoms (freedom from hunger, thirst and malnutrition; freedom from fear and distress; freedom from physical and thermal discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and disease; and freedom to express normal patterns of behaviour) [ [http://www.fawc.org.uk/freedoms.htm The Five Freedoms] as defined on the Farm Animal Welfare Council website, accessed 5 August 2008] and the Three Rs (reduction in numbers of animals, refinement of experimental methods and replacement of animals with non-animal techniques) [For definition, see 7.1 of [http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200102/ldselect/ldanimal/150/15010.htm Chapter 7: The Three R's: Alternatives to animal experiments] by the Select Committee on Animals In Scientific Procedures, accessed 5 August 2008] provide valuable guidance for the use of animals
*Recognition that the provisions contained in this declaration do not affect the rights of any state.

The principles of the declaration are:
#The welfare of animals shall be a common objective for all states
#The standards of animal welfare attained by each state shall be promoted, recognized and observed by improved measures, nationally and internationally
#All appropriate steps shall be taken by states to prevent cruelty to animals and to reduce their suffering
#Appropriate standards on the welfare of animals will be further developed and elaborated, such as those governing the use and management of farm animals, companion animals, animals in scientific research, draught animals, wildlife animals and animals in recreation.

Public campaign

The public campaign to gain support for a UDAW, branded ‘Animals Matter’, was launched in June 2006. It reached one million signatures in December 2007 with the President of Costa Rica, Sr. Oscar Arias, becoming the official one millionth signatory and hosting celebrations in San José, Costa Rica in March 2008. [See [http://www.wspa.org.uk/latestnews/2008/UDAWevent.aspx Costa Rica makes animal welfare a presidential matter] on WSPA UK website, accessed 5 August 2008]

Notes and references

Further reading

Appleby, M.C. and Sherwood, L. (2007) [http://www.udaw.org/gov/pdf/en/en_brochure.pdf "Animal Welfare Matters to Animals, People and the Environment: The case for a Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare"] , London: WSPA.

External links

* [http://www.animlasmatter.org Public UDAW campaign]
* [http://www.udaw.org/ UDAW government portal]
* [http://www.udaw.org/gov/pdf/en/en_draft.pdf The initial draft of the UDAW]
* [http://www.wspa-international.org/ WSPA website]
* [http://www.hsus.org/ HSUS website]
* [http://www.bva.co.uk/ British Veterinary Association website]