Abstracts and Profiles

Transcription

1 Abstracts and Profiles Stray Animals our sentient fellow creatures on Thursday, April 10, 2014 at 9:30 h at the premises of the Representation of the State of Baden- Württemberg to the EU Rue Belliard 60-62, 1040 Brussels.

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3 Dr. Gieri Bolliger Attorney at Law and Executive Director of the Stiftung für das Tier im Recht (TIR, Foundation for the Animal in the Law), Switzerland, a Swiss organization focused on the legal and ethical aspects of animal welfare ( Graduated from the University of Zurich in 1994 Earned his PhD in 2000 completing his doctoral thesis on European Animal Welfare Law: ("Europäisches Tierschutzrecht Tierschutzbestimmungen des Europarats und der Europäischen Union") Earned his LL.M. degree in 2013 in animal law from Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland (USA) Worked as a lawyer for TIR specializing in animal law for more than ten years Gained admission to the Zurich bar in 2003 Since 2005 he has held a teaching position at the University of Zurich focused on animal welfare law. In 2007 he transitioned to the role of Executive Director overseeing all aspects of the organization As an editor, author and co-author, Gieri Bolliger has published numerous books on animal law. Moreover, he has authored several studies and more than 100 articles on Swiss and international animal law: - "Das Tier im Recht 99 Facetten zur Mensch-Tier-Beziehung von A bis Z" (2003) - "Schweizer Tierschutzstrafrecht in Theorie und Praxis" (2011) - "Sexualität mit Tieren (Zoophilie) - eine rechtliche Betrachtung" (2011). 3

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5 The European Pet Convention Up to Date? Dr. Gieri Bolliger, Stiftung für das Tier im Recht (TIR) In 1992, the Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals (ETS No. 125) of the Council of Europe entered into force recognizing the special relationships between humans and their pets, along with the need for common standards of practice and principles resulting in responsible pet ownership. To this day, 23 countries have signed and ratified the Convention becoming a Party: Belgium (1992), Finland (1992), Germany (1992), Greece (1992), Luxembourg (1992), Norway (1992), Sweden (1992), Denmark (1993), Cyprus (1994), Portugal (1994), Switzerland (1994), Czech Republic (1999), Austria (2000), France (2004), Lithuania (2004), Turkey (2004), Bulgaria (2005), Romania (2005), Azerbaijan (2008), Italy (2011), Latvia (2011), Serbia (2011), and Ukraine (2014). Furthermore, the Netherlands have signed, but not yet ratified. The Parties are obligated to implement the Pet Convention through their national laws. The Convention also refers to the treatment of stray animals. Art. 12 states that a Party must take legislative or administrative measures to humanely reduce the number of stray animals, if this number presents a problem, without causing any avoidable pain, suffering, or distress for the animals. If deemed necessary to kill stray animals, then their physical and mental suffering shall be avoided as much as possible (art. 11 also lists forbidden methods of killing). Exceptions to the Convention's principles on the capture, keeping, or killing of stray animals may be made only if they are unavoidable in the framework of national disease control programs (art. 13). The Parties must regularly reexamine the application of the Convention and can, if appropriate, extend or strengthen its implementation provisions. However, certain Parties fail the implementation or even pass new national laws violating the Convention, such as Romania s 2013 modification of its ordinance on the handling of stray dogs which contains several provisions that clearly contradict the Pet Convention. The Convention does not provide any mechanism by which to sanction Parties for failing to implement or being in violation of any of its provisions. However, art. 15 does state that the Parties must hold meetings so-called "multilateral consultations" within the Council of Europe to examine and review the application of and discuss possible amendments and resolutions to the Pet Convention. These consultations must take place at least every five years or, whenever a majority of the Parties request, and convened by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. After each consultation, the Parties must submit to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe a report on the consultation and on the functioning of the Convention. In reality, the first multilateral consultation of 1995 when only eleven Parties joined the Convention was the only one ever held. Hence, for almost 20 years there has never been an official meeting on the Pet Convention, and a majority of the Parties could never participate in corresponding activities. Moreover, the lack of consultations results in a complete absence of the required national reports on the application of the Convention. 5

6 In order to achieve the Convention's international goals, the Parties must be convened in order to review and monitor the implementation practices in their own and all other member states. Furthermore, official meetings are indispensable for the development of common coordinated pet and stray animals programs. In this context, the Council of Europe is not only entitled but obligated to remind the Parties of their contractual duties to adhere to the Pet Convention and to provide the necessary platform, through the stipulated multilateral consultations, to exchange views and discuss issues. 6

7 Dr. Martin Hartmann Chief Veterinary Officer of Baden-Württemberg, Ministry of Rural Areas and Consumer protection of the State of Baden- Württemberg, Germany Studies in veterinary science in Graduated from the University of Berlin in 1985 Earned his PhD in 19 completing his doctoral thesis on Effects of Acetaldehyd on pregnant rats Diploma as Veterinary surgeon specialist for public veterinary-medicine in 1988 Part-time salaried veterinary assistant or holiday replacement of veterinary surgeons, employment in a slaughterhouse in Giengen/Brenz as an official veterinarian form May 1983 until April 1986 Official Veterinarian in the Veterinary Inspection Office Schwäbisch Hall from May 1986 until October 1988 (Prevention and control of transmissible animal diseases, Protection of the health and welfare of animals, Carcass disposal and environmental protection, Monitoring the trade in foods of animal origin and milk surveillance, Control of abattoir hygiene) Head of the field office in Öhringen of the Veterinary Inspection Office Schwäbisch Hall from October 1988 until June 1995 Chief Veterinarian Officer in the Hohenlohekreis / Baden-Wuerttemberg form 1995 until 2013 From 2013 Chief Veterinary Officer of Baden-Württemberg, Ministry of Rural Areas and Consumer protection of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Germany Since Vice president of the Veterinary Association of Baden-Württemberg Since President of the Association of State Veterinary Officers of Germany Dr. Hartmann will moderate the Part II of the workshop: Animals in society, law and enforcement: diverse perceptions. 7

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9 Dr. Karin Hipper Veterinary Liaison Officer at the Representation of the State of Baden-Württemberg to the European Union in Brussels, responsible for the issues of the Ministry of Rural Areas and Consumer Protection of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Germany Veterinary Studies in Hanover (DE) and Berne (CH) Qualified as a veterinary surgeon at the Veterinary College of Hanover in 1997 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in Hanover(DE) in 1999 Worked as a veterinary practitioner in Germany and England form 1999 until 2000 Qualified for the Veterinary Services in 2001, since then different functions as Veterinary Officer in public administration on district, regional and state level in Baden-Württemberg until 2006, such as - Veterinary Officer in Freudenstadt, Esslingen and Balingen in Veterinary Officer at the Border Inspection Post (BIP) Stuttgart Airport Administrator for "General Veterinary Affairs and Veterinary Medicinal Products" at Ministry level Administrator for the development, implementation and administration of the computer based "Quality Management Manual (QMM) of the Veterinary Administration of Baden-Wuerttemberg" at Ministry level 2006 Veterinary Liaison Officer at the Baden-Württemberg Representation in Brussels since 2006 Dr. Hipper will moderate Part I of the workshop: European framework status quo and outlook. 9

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11 Dr. Cornelie Jäger Animal Welfare Officer of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg Different functions as veterinarian in the civil service of Baden-Württemberg and Thuringia Scientific work Studies in veterinary science Animal welfare Officer of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg since 2012 Dr. Jäger will give a short introduction into the topic and will give an insight, why stray animals are of concern to Baden-Württemberg and why they should be considered in future EU-legislation. 11

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13 Elisabeth Jeggle MEP Member of the Intergroup on Animal Welfare and of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament Elisabeth Jeggle (EPP, Germany) was an elected Member of the European Parliament in Before her election she worked as a dairy farmer on her farm in southern Germany. Since the very beginning she has been member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development and responsible for animal welfare within her group. She was rapporteur of the report on the Action Plan on the Protection and Welfare of Animals and on the report on The protection of animals used for scientific purposes in Further she was an EPP-shadow rapporteur on the report on the Strategy for the protection and welfare of animals She initiated the Written Declaration on dog population management in the European Union in 2011 and hosted several events on animal welfare in the European Parliament. Currently she is the EPP-shadow rapporteur on the regulation on the Animal Health Law. She pushes for the introduction of mandatory registration and identification systems for dogs in the EU member states in order to promote responsible ownership and solve the problem of stray animals in the long term. 13

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15 Discussion about stray animals in the European Parliament since 2007 Elisabeth Jeggle, Member of the Intergroup on Animal Welfare and of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Parliament Already in its 2005 report on the Action Plan on the Protection and Welfare of Animals the European Parliament asked for "protection and welfare of all animals" as well as for research and development concerning electronic systems for animal identification. This was before in 2009 the famous Article 13 was included in the Lisbon Treaty and before Parliament got full co-legislative power in the domain of agriculture. Since then a lot of things have changed, however, the European Union does still not have legal powers when it comes to the protection and welfare of pet animals or stray animals. The European Parliament, together with animal welfare organisations, has constantly put pressure on the European Commission to evaluate the possibilities to bring animal welfare regulations in general on a European level. In 2011 the Written declaration on dog population management in the European Union was adopted. The European Parliament asked for measures to tackle the problem of stray dogs and for a mandatory identification and registration system. In the report on the Strategy for the protection and welfare of animal the European Parliament went one step further and called for a "European Animal Welfare Framework Law", which shall cover "all kept and abandoned animals, including stray animals of domesticated species". After the adoption of this report the European Commission mentioned for the first time that the possibility of such a framework law would be evaluated. At the same time the Petition Committee adopted a resolution on the proper management of stray animals. With this resolution the Petition Committee reacted to countless messages from European citizens who were concerned about the way how stray dogs are dealt with in some EU member states. In all its reports and resolutions the European Parliament constantly asked for a proper system of identification and registration of especially dogs and the promotion of responsible ownership. This is crucial for animal welfare as well as for the management of the stray dog population in the long term. Currently the Committee on Agriculture adopted another resolution on the management and welfare of stray animals and kept asking for European solutions and measures. In the meantime, the request for a mandatory registration and identification system for dogs could be introduced in the Animal Health Law. For the first time this request could be introduced in the legally binding text. The agricultural committee adopted this text in its vote in February If plenary follows this vote in April, the European Commission, the 15

16 member states and the European Parliament will be forced to seriously discuss the issue of stray dogs and sustainable solutions on a European Level. Slowly but surely and steadily the European Parliament pushes animal welfare and especially the issue of stray animals on a European level. In the future, the European Union will have to accept its responsibility for animal welfare and set up a proper framework for all animals. 16

17 Dr. Rosalba Matassa Head of Animal Welfare Unit, Ministry of Health, Italy She is an expert on animal welfare. In the period of , she carried out the following activities: 1. planning and monitoring to prevent and to control the animal s feed 2. participating in the experts groups on Animal Feed in Italy, UE and Internationals Organizations. From 2003 to present, she is responsible for the following activities: 1. planning and monitoring to prevent and to control Animal Welfare on the farm, during the transport, and at the slaughterhouse. 2. Public Health Office and prevention stray dogs and cats 3. Pet Animal Welfare 4. Participating in the experts groups on Animal Welfare in Italy, UE and Internationals Organizations (CoE Strasburgo FAO - OIE) Moreover, since 2003 she directs the Task Force on Animal Welfare Unit concerning the stray cats and dogs and the pets mistreatment. This Unit pays particular attention to the management of kennels to ensure the respect of animal welfare, as provided by the National Legislation. 17

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19 The protection of cats under Italian law and the population management Dr. Rosalba Matassa, Head of Animal Welfare Unit, Ministry of Health, Italy In this presentation it is described the Italian Legislation regarding the protection of cats welfare. In particular, the main laws and the Accords between the Ministry of Health, the Regions and Autonomous Provinces are listed and explained. From 1991, is in force in Italy the Law n. 281 of August 14 regarding the welfare of pets and the prevention of stray dogs and cats population. This law promotes and disciplines the correct coexistence between man and animals, it condemns animal mistreatment and abandonment. Moreover, it provides that the control of the companion animals population must be performed through the limitation of births. The sterilization of stray cats must be executed by the Competent Authority. Afterwards, it was enacted the Accord of 6 February 2003 which defines the duties and the responsibilities of pet animals owners. The law n. 189 of July 20, 2004 introduces the crimes against the feeling for animals as the killing, the mistreatment and the use in banned events. The law n. 201 of November 4, 2010 provides penalties for trafficking of dogs and cats and for illegal introduction of puppies. As establishes by the Accord January , cats must be identified and registered if they are object of a commercial activity, if they are part of a feline colony and finally for the release of the European Passport. Finally, it is banned the sale of cats under two months of age. Producers and distributors of transponders must be registered with the Health Ministry. 19

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21 Dr. Monique Megens President of the Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary Association FECAVA Monique Megens qualified as a veterinary surgeon at Utrecht University in After working for almost 10 years as a companion animal practitioner, she sold her practice in 2008 and started a company in project management and consultancy. From 2004, on behalf of companion animal section of the Royal Dutch Veterinary Association, she represented, the Dutch companion animal veterinarian at European level via UEVP/FVE and FECAVA. Currently she is the President of FECAVA, a federation of companion animal veterinary associations in 39 European countries. In addition she works on behalf of a foundation of the Royal Dutch Veterinary Association and Utrecht University and is responsible for their companion animal CPD program. Animal welfare is embedded in the CPD program. Monique resides in The Netherlands with her husband Johan, her six year old son Thomas, their German Shepherd dog Skipper and cat Nelson. Contact details are available at Dr. Megens will moderatepart III of the workshop: Best practices in Member States. 21

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23 Frank Meuser Head of Berlin Office, Deutscher Tierschutzbund e.v., Germany Frank Meuser, 39 years old, studied political science and economics at Bremen University. From 2002 to 2003 and from 2005 to 2011 he worked as advisor for three MPs in German Parliament. In 2004 he was member of the EP-elections campaign team of the Social Democratic Party. Since 2011 he is Head of Berlin office of Deutscher Tierschutzbund, responsible for political communication on national and EU-level. He also is member of the Executive Committee of Eurogroup for Animals, the Lobby-Organization for animal welfare on European Union Level. 23

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25 Presentation of the Odessa stray animals project in Ukraine Frank Meuser, Head of Berlin Office, Deutscher Tierschutzbund e.v., Germany In May 2005 Deutscher Tierschutzbund opened the Animal-welfare and Neutering Centre in Odessa, Ukraine to help stray animals. The project is unique and an example for other Eastern European Countries. Till 2005, thousands of stray animals were caught and killed every year. The gap the animals left in their districts were filled up by other animals, the number of stray animals didn t decrease. The problem was not solved, so Deutscher Tierschutzbund started the Catch, neuter, release -strategy in Odessa. After medical care and time to recover the animals are brought back to their districts. Only sick animals stay in the Centre for longer. By the Odessa-Project we broke the circle of propagation and killing of stray animals. The number of stray animals increased from about in 2005 to in Catch, neuter, release is a sustainable and animal-friendly method to increase the number of stray animals. 25

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27 Irini Molfessi President, Pan-Hellenic Animal Welfare Foundation Born in Paris from Greek parents, Irini Molfessi grew up in Paris. She studied foreign languages and literature as well as photography in Paris, Brussels and London. In 1987 she came to live in Greece. Having grown up with a passion for animals and considering pets the natural extension of any healthy family, she was confronted with Greece s shocking reality regarding companion animals. She became president, in 2006, of Animal Protection Aegina the Society that owns one of the best animal shelters in Greece and a year later, President of the Panhellenic Animal Welfare Federation, an umbrella organization for Animal Welfare societies from all over Greece. With the belief that all issues relating to the protection of animals are primarily ethical and societal choices, Irini Molfessi has searched for local and international allies in a constant effort to achieve results in animal welfare she has lead and organized a wide range of actions, from lobbying lawmakers and politicians, to fighting institutionalized abusive practices and at the foremost to create positive public awareness. 27

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29 Dr. ir. Ester Peeters Scientific Advisor for the Animal Welfare Council, Belgium Ester Peeters studied at the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering at the University of Leuven. Consequently she started a PhD-study on the stress and welfare of pigs during transport to the slaughterhouse. She obtained her PhD in 2006, after which, she was happy to start her job as scientific advisor of the Animal Welfare Council in Belgium, which enables her to combine the scientific approach with society s view on animal welfare. The Animal Welfare Council (AWC) is composed of a variety of stakeholders, among which scientists, representatives of animal welfare organisations and consumers associations, veterinarians, traders,, and advises the Belgian Minister of Public Health on animal welfare topics. The opinions that are published by the Council take into account the latest scientific, ethical and social developments. 29

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31 The Multiannual cat plan of Belgium in Belgium Dr. ir. Ester Peeters, Scientific Advisor for the Animal welfare Council, Belgium Belgium counts almost 2 million cats for 11 million inhabitants. Shelters have been faced with a overpopulation of cats for decades. Only 35% of these cats are surrendered by their owners, the other cats are found as roaming cats. Annually, approximately one third of the cats in shelters needs to be euthanized. In the past the Belgian government had already taken different measures to reduce the number of cats (and dogs) in Belgium in order to diminish the overpopulation in shelters and the population of stray cats. For this purpose the sale of cats and dogs on markets is prohibited (since 1996), the publicity for sale of dogs/cats is restricted, and there is a ban on the sale of cats and dogs in pet shop (since 2009). In the case of dogs, these measures were successful and resulted in a reduction of the number of dogs in shelters, whereas for the number of cats no significant effects were observed. Consequently the Belgian Minister competent for animal welfare, asked the Animal Welfare Council in 2009 to issue an opinion on this subject. The Animal Welfare Council (AWC) is composed of a variety of stakeholders, among which scientists, representatives of animal welfare organisations and consumers associations, veterinarians, traders, and advises the Belgian Minister of Public Health on animal welfare topics. The council reasons that the cat is a domesticated animal that is not part of our original ecosystem (it has no role as a predator and it has no predators) and that has an uncontrolled reproduction system. So the council advised measures to be taken on two areas: on one hand the reproduction of domestic cats should be controlled (by mandatory sterilisation and identification) and on the other hand the population of feral cats should be kept under control. The government put this advice into practice by working out a multiannual action plan, regulated by law: since September 2012 all cats in shelters need to be neutered, identified and registered before adoption. From September 2014 onwards all cats that change owner will need to be neutered. To inform municipalities about controlling feral cat populations, they will receive a guidance with past experiences and suggestions. The effect of these extensive measures will be observable within a few years, however statistics already show a reduction in the number of cats in shelters which may be explained by the effect of the mention of the future obligatory sterilisation into the media. 31

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33 Sara Turetta President of save the dogs, Romania Sara Turetta is a former Saatchi&Saatchi account who moved to Romania in 2002, starting a project aimed to rescue stray dogs in 2 South-Eastern towns. Since then Save the Dogs and other Animals - the organization she founded has neutered more than 24,000 animals, rehomed 6,000 abroad while a model dog shelter as well as a s anctuary for neglected and abandoned equines have been built. Currently the towns where the charity is running its projects are among the few ones whose Mayors are not killing the strays, following the recently approved law. Sara Turetta is continuously moving from Italy to Romania, running the fundraising office in Milan and coordinating a team of over 50 local operators daily engaged in the projects. Save the Dogs is part of a coalition of organizations (together with WSPA and Vier Pfoten) trying to lobby Romanian authorities in order to humanely tackle the stray dogs issue. 33

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35 Map of municipality shelters Sara Turetta, President of Save the dogs, Romania Municipality kennels in Romania are under the spotlight of animal welfare groups since the approval of the new killing low last September These places became in fact the destination of tens of thousands of abandoned dogs captured all throughout Romania. The map of Municipality kennels created by Save the Dogs and other Animals is meant to be a tool available to animal welfare charities in order to monitor the situation and possibly take action in specific locations. Law 258/2013 has been severely criticized for its killing mission and we definitely believe that this part has to be totally revised. Yet the law also contains positive aspects, for instance the compulsory sterilization and identification of owned dogs by the end of 2014 and the obligation to draw up a canine register. Not surprisingly the good parts of the law lack enforcement, the canine register seems to have been activated at the end of March but it still represents a mysterious tool for the ones who are supposed to get familiar with it. Moreover another potentially positive aspect of the law is represented by its guidelines, which do require minimum standards regarding important aspects of strays management - good living conditions inside public kennels, proper capture and transport of strays, appropriate veterinary assistance. Once again, as expected, the guidelines are far from being applied. A substantial amount of video and photographic material show how Romanian public kennels easily pass over legality. The map aims to highlight the worst public kennel registered since September 2013, as reported by common citizens and animal welfare organizations. There are about 28 cases brought to light by the map. This figure does not deviate too much from the figure reported by the Romanian Veterinary Authority (ANSVSA), who managed to inspect 74 public kennels and found out that approximately half of them do not run their activities according to the law. During the presentation a few outstanding aspects of the guidelines of the Law 258/1013 will be presented and will have to pass the test of the real facts evidence. As expected what comes out is an absolutely worrying situation, far from common sense and widespread across the country. 35

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37 Dr. Marlene Wartenberg Director European Policy Office VIER PFOTEN, Brussels Marlene Wartenberg is a qualified lawyer and has her PhD in Political science. She has started in the German Parliament and has working experience in Public Affairs in Germany and on European level. In 2002 she became Executive Director of VIER PFOTEN in Hamburg, established the VIER PFOTEN representation in Berlin and built up in 2007 the European Policy Office in Brussels. Starting with the EU Animal Health Strategy she worked on companion animals at EU level and initiated several international conferences, workshops and trainings on stray dog population management and responsible ownership from She also built up the two platforms for responsible ownership of dogs, CAROdog ( in 2010, and of cats, CAROcat ( in 2013 together with the Istituto G. Caporale Teramo, the EU Commission, FVE and the Advisory Board for Cat Diseases. She has been working on enforcement of Animal Welfare related legislation and on several national Animal Welfare Laws in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, started the EU Network for Enforcement with Animal Welfare Lawyers and Animal Welfare Commissioners. She is Member of the German Juridical Association for Animal Welfare Law, and, among others, she gave seminars on EU Animal Welfare Law in the Masterstudy Animals in Law and Society at the Free University of Barcelona. Dr. Wartenberg will moderate Part IV of the workshop: Solution Strategies. 37

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39 Dr. Andrea Gavinelli Head of Unit Animal Welfare, DG Sanco, European Commission, Brussels Andrea is a veterinarian and he has been a policy official at the European Commission since He is currently in charge of the Animal Welfare Unit in the Health and Consumers Directorate General of the European Commission. Since 2001, he is active member of the "Working Group on Animal Welfare" of the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) and he is a member of specific working groups at international level with EU trading partners. Andrea is a member of the editorial board of the "FAO Gateway to Farm Animal Welfare". The main activities of the Unit that he is coordinating are directed towards the implementation of the standards foreseen in the EU legislation and to raise the understanding of the animal welfare at international level and its integration in the area of sustainable farming. 39

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41 Animal welfare and Health Policy of the EU Head of Unit Animal Welfare, DG Sanco, European Commission The European Commission is aware that in some Member States the control of dog populations, including the welfare of stray dogs, may be problematic. The way Member States implement national legislation on these matters remains under their sole competence, in particular because the welfare of pet animals is not recognized as a competence of the EU. By the other hand the rise in animal commerce in the EU could bring problems of its own, in particular in the area of pet welfare, public health and consumer protection all over the EU. During the last years though, the European Commission started to study the situation and the potential benefits of an EU coordinated approach. Specifically: On October 2013 the Commission and the Lithuanian Presidency organized the first Conference on the welfare of dogs and cats which provided stakeholders from all backgrounds with an opportunity to discuss and reflect on the practical considerations that relate to companion animal welfare with the view to establishing a means of identifying and tackling the key issues and also lunch a study into the welfare of dogs and cats involved in commercial practices. On the same purpose DG SANCO organized a study On the welfare of dogs and cats involved in commercial practices which objective was to determine the extent to which the EU should take specific measures on the welfare of dogs and cats involved in commercial practices and make recommendations for the future actions. The results of the study are expected by the end of The Commission proposal regarding a future Animal Health Law includes kept animals and wild animals. In this case wild animals refer to all those not kept by humans including stray ones. The new law proposes disease control and also provides requirements and measures for animal movement and transportation. The Commission has consistently supported the work performed by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to develop guidelines for the control of stray dog populations. This issue is recognized as priority by the OIE European regional platform on Animal Welfare, in its action plan. 41

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43 Dr. Paolo Dalla Villa Animal Welfare Unit, DG Sanco, European Commission, Brussels Paolo Dalla Villa is a veterinarian with post-doctoral studies on companion animal medicine, and since 2012 he is Diplomate of the European College of Animal Welfare and Behavioural Medicine. Before joining the European Commission as Seconded National Expert, he has been leading the Human-Animal Interaction and Animal Welfare Unit at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale "G. Caporale" in Teramo - OIE Collaborating Centre for Veterinary Training, Epidemiology, Food safety and Animal Welfare. In this position he has been coordinating stray dog population control plans and research projects on companion animal welfare. During the 2009 L Aquila earthquake emergency he was actively involved in the Italian Civil Protection veterinary task force. He is a member of the OIE ad hoc Group on Natural Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Relation to Animal Health and Welfare. In his current position at the DG SANCO, he deals with issues related to the EU policies on animal welfare development and implementation, with particular reference to companion animal welfare and the international cooperation area. 43

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45 Stray population management in disaster relief situations Dr. Paolo Dalla Villa P, Animal Welfare Unit, DG Sanco, European Commission In response to the UN Resolutions and global strategies that have been adopted during the past two decades, government policies on disasters are becoming more focused on prevention, facilitating response and improving resilience. According to the The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), a disaster is "a sudden, calamitous event that seriously disrupts the functioning of a community or society and causes human, material, economic or environmental losses that exceed the community's or society's ability to cope using its own resources". The combination of hazard, vulnerability and inability to mitigate risk results in disaster. The classification of disasters includes natural (e.g. flooding, hurricane, drought), human (e.g. fire, conflict) and technical (e.g. failure of nuclear reactor, chemical spill). The European Union promotes solidarity and support, complements, and facilitates the coordination of Member States' actions in the field of civil protection with a view to improving the effectiveness of systems for preventing, preparing for and responding to natural and man-made disasters. The Decision 1313/2013/EU establishes a Union Mechanism that shall cover primarily people, but also the environment and property. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, it facilitates cooperation and coordination, without prejudice to Member States' primary responsibility to take action. In emergencies and disasters, humanitarian efforts focus primarily on saving human life. However, when considering animals, the emphasis may be on livestock, due to the need for a quick recovery of the local zootechnical production system. On the other hand, the importance of the human-companion animal bond should not be overlooked in any community. Indeed, the human-animal relationship has important emotional and social implications, especially during emergency situations, and it can be a decisive factor affecting individual reactions to disaster. Awareness of animals in distress or danger can impair people s capacity to cope with family tragedy or severe personal hardship. Several important global actors in the field of humanitarian relief as well as international NGOs are involved in disaster relief and play an important role in response by putting operational teams with emergency aid into the field. This subject has been also identified as a priority for the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and ad hoc Group on Natural Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Relation to Animal Health and Welfare has been set up in order to develop specific guidelines on this area. 45

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47 Prof. Dr. Kurt M. Kotrschal Director of the Konrad Lorenz Research Station, Grünau/Austria Born 1953 in Linz/Austria, married since 1975, two children. Masters (1976) and PhD (1981) from the University of Salzburg PostDoc at the University of Arizona/Tiucson, Visiting Scientist at the University of Colorado Health Science Center. Since 1990 Professor at the University of Vienna Department of Behavioural Biology, Director of the Konrad Lorenz Research Station (KLF) in Grünau/Austria ( co-founder of the Wolf Science Center (1998; At the center of present scientific interests are the interaction between ecological conditions and the evolution of social and cognitive mechanisms in mammals and birds. This work expanded into the area of human-animal relationships and comparative research in wolves and dogs. More than 200 original research papers, book chapters and books. Austrias Scientist of the year 2010, Science Book of the year Regular media appearances including a newspaper column on science and society. 47

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49 How to distinguish between wild and domestic animals - effects on resulting responsibilities Prof. Dr. Kurt Kotrschal, Director of the Konrad Lorenz Research Station, Grünau/Austria Animals are domesticated if genetically changed as compared to the wild ancestors, through the selection pressures of living in a human-shaped environment. Generally, domestication is mostly selection for tameness, which changes the morphology, behaviour and physiology of the animals as compared to their wild ancestor species. This means that these animals remain domesticated, even if they are temporarily or permanently not under human control, such as stray animals. Feral dogs, for example, deviate from wolves in social organization, lifestyle and pack-internal cooperation. Hence, stray animals differ permanently from their wild ancestors. Their genotype developed under human influence and inadequate control/care by humans turned them into strays or let them adopt a feral lifestyle. Generally such animals still remain dependent on humans to some degree. They remain genetically and behaviourally distinct from wildlife. 49

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