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November 6, 2001.
News
Update
Journalists
see through proposed Animal 'Health' Legislation
Thinking
journalists have been quick to spot the motives behind the proposed
Animal Health Bill, which DEFRA is trying to rush through Parliament. (The
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee is hearing evidence today
from Elliot Morley!)
Magnus Linklater - Animal
health bill a licence for state incompetence (Scotland on Sunday)
"the
Animal Health Bill is an outrage. It gives the government the right to
slaughter any animal, including not only cows and sheep, but family
pets, horses, ponies, and even creatures housed in zoos, if, in its
view, they "pose a risk of spreading disease". This means that
if there is another foot and mouth scare, farmers or householders will
be deprived of the legal right to challenge the killing of their
animals. It is a savage and draconian piece of legislation, far worse in
its implications than the absurd Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991, which was
rushed through after the scare over pit-bull terriers, and was found to
be unworkable."
Christopher
Booker's Notebook - After the slaughter comes the Bill to make it
legal (The Sunday Telegraph)
The
Bill "grants powers more arbitrary and draconian than state
officials have ever been given in Britain before. In the name of
eliminating foot and mouth or any other disease, they are given right of
entry to any premises, to kill any animal they wish, including cats and
dogs.
Animal
owners are deprived of any legal right to question or challenge such
decisions. Indeed, they can be ordered by officials, on pain of
prosecution, to provide assistance in any way that the officials want;
so that, on paper, even refusing to make tea for an official could be
deemed a criminal offence." And "Not the least controversial
aspect of Mr Morley's new law is that it proposes to give police-state
powers to the very officials who have so conspicuously abused the powers
that they already have over the past seven months."
Jonathan Miller -
Field day for the animal killers (The Sunday Times)
"This
vindictive legislation, to put beyond challenge the power of the
government to kill anyone's animal, has been rushed into parliament
without waiting for reports from any of the three foot-and-mouth
inquiries established by the government." And "But this
is about more than Blair and a dreadful civil service. It is entirely
consistent with the invisible government of an arrogant, unaccountable
and secretive civil service that is institutionally lunatic."
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