Members of the Committee
We propose that a representative of the Ethics Section of the Department of Philosophy be included in the Article 34 of the Animal Protection Act as a member of the Ethics Committee in order for the committee to have an ethics expert. We further propose that in the Article 35 of the Animal Protection Act be included a representative of the Animal Welfare Unit of the Veterinary Institute as a member of the Animal Protection Committee of the Farm Animal Protection Board.
We do not agree with the following proposals of the Ministry of Agriculture:
- the inclusion of the industry representative in the Article 34 of the Animal Protection Act as member of the Ethics Committee
- the inclusion of representatives of the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture as well as of the Farmers' Association in the Article 35 of the Animal Protection Act as members of the Animal Protection Committee of the Farm Animal Protection Board
- the inclusion of representatives of the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture and the Breeders' Association in the Board for protection of pets and other animals, with the exclusion of animals used for testing and farm animals.
We also propose that meetings of the committees be recorded and published, just as the parliament sessions are. We believe that would help the members of the committees to prepare their presentations better. Better preparation would in turn improve the protection of animals within the law which is the ultimate objective of the committees' work.
Explanation:
Members of the Ethics Committee give opinions and suggestions about the issues of ethics and animal protection in the provisions of the Animal Protection Act concerning animal testing. Since the goal of the industry representatives is making profit, and that goes against the goal of the committee, we do not deem appropriate that they be members of the committee. Therefore, the industry representatives could perhaps give their opinions, but under no circumstance be included as committee members.
As the Animal Protection Committee of the Farm Animal Protection Board already has among its ranks representatives of three chambers, we do not deem it necessary to add a representative of the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture. The argument stating that this is asked „because the same was asked when the law was last amended in 2013“ is not an argument for the proposed change. Furthermore, we propose that the Farmers' Association representatives give their opinions on certain subjects, but we ask that they not be members of this committee as their interest in making profit is in direct collision with the interest to protect animals, which means that we cannot expect opinions directed at animal welfare.
We also do not deem it necessary to add representatives of the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture and of the Breeders' Association in the Board for protection of pets and other animals, with the exception of animals used for testing and farm animals, because that would be in sharp contrast to their possible contribution to animal welfare since their main objective is making profit by breeding and selling animals. If a representative of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce is added as a member of this committee, then there is no need whatsoever to add the representative of another interest group, whose interest is not the protection of animals, not the improvement of the Act .
If the member of the Croatian Chamber of Agriculture is already included as a member of this committee, there is no need to include a representative of yet another interest group whose interest is neither the protection of animals nor the improvement of the law.
If there should be a need to add new committee members, we suggest a representative of the Ethics Section of the Department of Philosophy for the Ethics Committee, and a representative of the Animal Welfare Unit of the Veterinary Institute as a member of the Animal Protection Committee. Considering the nature of the Committees' work, we believe this representatives could give the most competent expert opinions and suggestions. The previously mentioned representative of the Ethics Section of the Department of Philosophy would also be appropriate for the Animal Protection Committee.
Furthermore, we propose that a representative of animal shelters be included in the Board for protection of pets and other animals, with the exception of farm animals and animals used for testing, since he/she deals with a wide area of animal protection. We also consider that there should be one animal shelter supervisor in the committee.
We understand and agree that the discussion of the Act should include all interested parties, including the representatives proposed as members of the committees, but only to give their opinions, not to be included in the work as members of the committees deciding on animal protection and welfare.
We believe that the members of the committees mentioned in the Article 34 and 35 of the Animal Protection Act should be experts in the area of animal protection within their professions. In other words, we do not deem appropriate that representatives of aforementioned professions be included as members of the committees as their interest in making profit is in direct collision with the interest to protect animals. Having that in mind, we believe their suggestion would be in favour of reducing instead of increasing animal protection.
The proposal of the Animal Friends Croatia to amend the Animal Protection Act has been drafted in the year 2015/2016.
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