ESLJ Volume 2 Number 1 Book Reviews
Animal Welfare Law in Britain: Regulation and Responsibility
by Mike Radford.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Pp.441, £45.00 (hb), £16.99 (pb),
ISBN 0 19 826251 5.
Reviewed by:
DONNA CHRICHTON
School of Public Administration and Law,
The Robert Gordon University
A text on animal law is greatly welcomed in an area largely overlooked by writers with only a few exceptions. In the current climate of increasing public awareness of animal welfare issues following BSE, foot and mouth disease and numerous animal welfare based television programmes, it seems sensible to assume there must be a growing market for a readable text aimed not only at lawyers, but also at those who either work in an animal welfare area or who just have an interest in animal welfare in Britain.
The author states that his work seeks to trace the evolution of animal protection legislation in Britain; to place that legislation in its legal, political and scientific context; to provide a detailed analysis of the substantive law and its application; to evaluate its effectiveness; and to suggest possible avenues for further reform. With these aims in mind the book has been divided into five parts after an introduction: historical development; legal and political context; cruelty; welfare; and effectiveness.
Mike Radford first looks at the traditional attitudes towards animals, starting from the religious viewpoint that animals were made for the sake of man to treat how they saw fit. Throughout the various developments, which ends with the call for animal welfare legislation, the author provides many interesting early quotations regarding man's attitude to animals which give a fascinating, and sometimes an appalling, insight into the early attitudes of man towards animals.
Radford then looks at the first attempts at legislating for the protection of animal welfare, starting in the early 1800s. It is interesting to note that opposition to the Bills against Bull Baiting ranged from the view that such legislation was 'frivolous and vexatious', would deprive the poor of one of the few enjoyments left to them, and that the Commons would be applying double standards by outlawing bull baiting when hunting, shooting, fishing and horse racing could be judged by similar standards. The latter echoes some sentiments expressed in the recent debate on hunting with hounds.
With the protection towards animals at this time extending only so far as the protection of them as property and the prevention of social disorder, Radford takes us through the various Bills proposed to protect animals from actual cruelty, most of which failed to pass into legislation. The chapter concludes with the reasons for the introduction of early animal protection legislation being due not only to beginning of an awareness of animals as sentient beings, but also to a complex mix of factors such as 'the development of a secular morality, the increasing influence of urban middle-class values, concern for social discipline and stability, a political and legislative system which was responsive, the individual campaigners to carry the cause forward, and the endorsement of the higher ranks of society' (p.590).
The chapter on extending the protection of animal welfare looks at the early animal protection legislation and regulation, including areas such as the introduction of and the problems posed by vivisection, the veterinary profession, animal health and wildlife, bringing us up to the present day. Radford states that 'the form of animal protection legislation at the beginning of the twenty-first century remains rooted in that of the nineteenth. As with so many areas of law, it is only possible to comprehend the present if one has some knowledge of the past' (p.95).
The chapter on the 'Continuing Need for Regulation' discusses the legal status of animals and comes to the conclusion that the question of the legal status of an animal as property is 'something of a distraction' as far as Britain is concerned. Regulation should recognise the needs and capacities of animals and have adequate means of enforcement to ensure that those responsible for animals have a duty to abide by the standards prescribed by law.
Radford also covers the relationship between Britain and other organisations and developments, such as the World Trade Organisation, the EC, the Council of Europe, pressure groups, the Human Rights Act and devolution in Scotland and Wales, all of which have an impact on our domestic animal protection laws. He makes the point that we need to look further than Westminster to understand fully the law in this area. The law's reform and development may now take place outside of Westminster, dependant on the area of competence of these bodies. This is especially true regarding reform of the law concerning animals in commercial undertakings.
After a comprehensive analysis of cruelty offences, Radford calls for animal protection laws in Britain to be consolidated and puts forward various proposals to reform certain aspects of them. Emphasis is placed on securing a level of regulation that creates a positive duty on those who supervise or care for animals to prevent unnecessary suffering which encompasses not only cruelty, but also the welfare of the animal. Throughout his work he makes, in my view, a strong case for the need to reform the law in this area to reflect the change in attitudes towards animals by society and scientists over the last few decades.
I found this book a fascinating insight into the early treatment of animals but I must admit, as an animal lover, to finding some of the examples of animal abuse difficult to read, solely because of the extent of cruelty inflicted on such creatures. Radford is right to include examples of man's barbaric treatment of animals because it helps the reader to understand not only the accepted attitudes of society towards animals at that time, but also the reluctance of the judiciary to convict for customary practices of abuse against animals and why there was a only a minority calling for animal welfare protection in the early 1800s.
The chapters on cruelty offences are easily 'dipped' into for reference by the lawyer and layperson alike, whilst other areas such as the influences on the development of the law since the 1800s need to be read fully to do them justice. Throughout the book the author writes in a style which is clear and informative and succeeds in providing a broad overview of animal protection law and highlighting the areas of weakness. As a Scot, I must also applaud Radford for his consistent appreciation of and reference to Scottish law and devolution where applicable, so often overlooked by authors north of the border.
I thoroughly recommend this book which has something for everyone interested in animal welfare.
This is a book review published online on March 7th 2005.
Citation: Chrichton, Donna, 'Animal Welfare Law in Britain: Regulation and Responsibility by Mike Radford', Entertainment and Sports Law Journal (ESLJ) Volume 2, Number 1 <http://www.warwick.ac.uk/go/eslj/issues/volume2/number1/reviews/chrichton/>.
