Tag Archives: animal welfare
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Why Labour is taking a stand against pulse fishing
This week, the European Parliament will be voting on a proposal which could lift the current strict limits on electric pulse fishing, and allow many more vessels to adopt the practice. Labour MEPs will oppose this proposal and support a ban on this practice.
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50 EU benefits #50
Cosmetics tested on animals are banned from the EU, even if made elsewhere.
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Whaling in the Faroes: an update
I recently wrote about whaling by Faroese people, after a constituent from Millie Hall in East Yorkshire brought the subject to my attention. The Faroe islands (being outside the EU) not only have an exemption from the rules agreed by all EU countries banning whaling, but they also have secured exemptions from the Convention on […]
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Fighting bullfighting
A parliamentary vote on the EU 2015 budget contained an amendment which proposed to exclude activities related to breeding bulls for bullfighting from the direct payments alloted by the Common Agricultural Policy. Labour Members of the European Parliament voted in favour of this amendment both in the committees on agriculture, environment and budgets respectively and […]
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Whaling in the Faroe Islands
Question Does Denmark (or do Danish citizens) have any legal obligation under EC law or under the Berne Convention to refrain from participating in, or helping in any way, the killing of cetaceans, and is there any legal obligation on the 86% of the people of the Faroe Island who have chosen to hold a […]
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Cloning of farm animals
European countries are discussing whether to adopt a single policy on farm animal cloning for the single market. Since all EU laws need the approval both of national ministers and elected MEPs, the European Parliament will be voting next week on a proposal to ban the cloning of farm animals. Labour MEPs are of the […]
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Whaling in the Faroes
It’s a pleasure to receive well-argued representations from constituents on genuine issues. Here is one such message I received recently from Millie Hall of East Yorkshire, on the subject of whaling by Faroese people. I expect you are aware of the continued whaling in the Faroe Islands as pictures hit the media recently when around […]
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Angling for bass protection
When we talk about the impact of fisheries policy in Europe, it’s natural for us to automatically think of the influence it has on smaller scale fishing in our coastal towns, or the huge trawlers that head out into the deep sea. It’s important to remember, though, that fisheries policy also has a great impact […]
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Joining the fish fight
It’s been four years since Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall kicked off his now famous ‘Fish Fight‘ campaign against the wasteful practice of discarding fish at sea. With the backing of nearly a million Brits and thanks to a firm position of Labour’s MEPs in the European Parliament, the reformed Common Fisheries Policy was finalised last year, hailed […]
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Tweets for birds
In the build-up to this week’s public hearings in the European Parliament of European Commission candidates, one of the issues I’ve most been contacted on by constituents is illegal bird hunting in Malta (thanks to the visibility brought to the issue by Springwatch’s Chris Packham). The many passionate emails and tweets I’ve received wanted to […]
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More than just trade
As so much of the debate about Europe has simply been focusing on the single market, it’s worth recalling that the EU is about much more than trade. When we joined the EU (then the EEC), we actually left the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) because we wanted more than free trade: we wanted to […]
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Animal welfare
One of the issues that concerns many British people is animal welfare. During my time as an MEP, I made this issue a priority, and conversations with voters during this election campaign has confirmed to me that the topic is still close to many people’s hearts. As with many significant political issues, animal welfare rules […]
