Conservative MEPs place a high priority on animal welfare and this has always been a core concern of our constituents. We have campaigned vigorously and successfully for an EU wide ban on dog and cat fur imports, to end dolphin deaths from trawler nets and we are coordinating the tightening of EU wide animal testing rules. Conservative agriculture spokesman Neil Parish MEP is currently chairman of the parliament's animal welfare inter-group Read More
Following tireless campaigning from Struan Stevenson MEP and his colleagues, an EU-wide ban on dog and cat fur imports, exports and trade received unanimous approval from the European Parliament in 2007. The ban is a victory for people power as millions of Europeans backed Conservative MEPs, signing petitions, sending emails and writing letters calling for an end to the trade. Read More
Thousands of dolphins die each year off our shores after being trapped and entangled in netting. The main cause of this is bass pair trawling which involves a large net stretched between two boats being dragged through the water. Despite the obvious harm these nets have caused to dolphins, the European Commission in 2004 refused to ban this practice within the English Channel and south western approaches. For centuries dolphins have been an endless cause of fascination and joy and we are campaigning hard to ensure they remain so for many generations to come. Read More
Neil Parish travelled to China in 2006 to step up a campaign to bring an end to the cruel practice of bear bile farming, in which thousands of moon bears are treated with brutality. The European Parliament passed a resolution that called on the Chinese government to end the practice whereby bears are incarcerated in tiny wire cages across bile farms. Mr Parish took that message to the Chinese government and pressed them for a date when the practice will be outlawed.
Neil Parish is draftsman of the new European Parliament directive on animal testing; a topic that always raises difficult and emotive issues. His proposals attempt to significantly improve the welfare of laboratory animals and will place a number of demands on establishments that use animals for testing.