New report finds Brexit could lead to a vet shortage and more animal testing
Britain’s status as a nation of animal lovers has been a proud hallmark for centuries. It is why, for the last half a century, the UK has made a largely positive contribution to improving the lives of billions of animals as members of the European Union. As a country, we have actively engaged with animal welfare concerns and generally used our significant power within the EU to champion animal protection.
As my new report ‘Animals and Brexit’ highlights, around 80% of UK animal welfare laws originate from the EU. More than 40 different laws relevant to animal welfare cover farmed animals, wildlife, animals used in research and companion animals.
Brexit, in any formulation, invariably means abandoning the achievements the UK has collaborated with the EU to build over almost half a century years. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that leaving the EU will be one of the most defining political events for the protection of animals in Britain.
As the post-Brexit threat of milk from infected US cows is making the headlines, my new report sets out risk posed not only to consumers but to the billions of farmed animals in the UK. Animals that are already seemingly being readied by Ministers for sacrifice on the altar of free trade post-Brexit. It also spells out the danger that Ministers’ refusal to retain the vital EU precautionary principle will rip the very heart out of wildlife protections.
The report also makes clear the European Union’s influence on animal welfare in the UK is more than just directly legislative. And, it is in the area of animals used in research and pet welfare, in particular, where the wider impacts of Brexit could be felt most acutely.
Animals used in research
At the moment, the welfare of animals used in research and testing is governed by an EU law requiring national regulators to approve animal use on a case-by-case basis. The legislation sets basic minimum standards, on everything from cage size to scientific objectives. Most important, however, is the stipulation that all member states work together to phase out animal testing entirely and develop non-animal alternatives.
Animal testing in the UK benefits from extensive European Union research and data-sharing networks seeking to promote and implement ‘best practice’ across the sector. EU-wide collaboration helps to promote and develop non-animal testing alternatives. The EU has also prioritised funding for the replacement of animal use through Horizon 2020.
Outside of the Single Market, the UK will lose access the funding and vital scientific networks that have made the EU a world-leader in replacement science. Consequently, the Government will be faced with the task of creating a new domestic regulatory system for authorising both the use of animals in research and the approval of non-animal testing alternatives. There is a significant risk that a duplicate and parallel regulatory system will see animals in the UK subjected to doubly unnecessary duplicate and parallel testing post-Brexit.
The Environment Secretary Michael Gove has even expressed his support for the ‘gene-editing’ of farmed animals once Britain leaves the EU. In the UK, ‘gene-editing’ experiments are responsible for almost half of all of the four million animals are used in testing and research.
Pet welfare
Pet welfare is ostensibly one of the least regulated areas of EU law, with companion animal legislation largely devolved to member states. But from the freedom of movement for EU vets to membership of the European Medicines Agency, pet welfare in the UK relies more heavily on our European Union membership that we might think.
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons currently registers around 1,000 overseas vets a year, with the vast majority coming from the EU. Our European Union membership has allowed the UK to access some of the best veterinary professionals and the latest figures available reveal that at least 20% of the UK veterinary workforce is made up of EU vets.
According to a post-referendum survey by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, however, almost 20% of EU veterinary staff working in Britain are already actively looking for work outside the UK while the majority admit to feeling less welcome. At the same time, EU-qualified vets are turning down jobs in the UK citing Brexit uncertainty.
Similarly, the number of EU students taking up UK veterinary courses, and the number of EU citizens teaching them, is also likely to fall dramatically post-Brexit. The UK’s government’s handling of citizens’ rights is precipitating a huge post-Brexit shortfall in the number of vets working in Britain.
And it’s not just veterinary surgeons, Brexit will also have a significant impact on veterinary medicine and research. As veterinary bodies have warned, leaving the EU will have a severe effect on the licensing, production, import and export of veterinary medicines. The UK government has already signalled it will no longer be part of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which enables medicines licensed in member states to be licensed for use throughout the EU, making them readily available to Europe’s 80 million pet-owning households.
Outside the auspices of the EMA and without any kind of associate agreement, the vast majority of medicines used to treat animals up and down the country will suddenly be pushed into regulatory limbo; having never been separately authorised by the UK. In a nutshell, post-Brexit, our beloved pets may have no, or significantly delayed, access to vital medicines.
Brexit bus
Ultimately, the animal testing and pet welfare issues highlighted in my new report are symbolic of the urgent work we must do to ensure that animals aren’t thrown under the Brexit bus. As a Green, compassion for animals is in my DNA. I will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with animal advocates and campaigners across the UK in this fight.
