Read the motion I am leading on

It wasn't my idea but the animal policy working group let me do the speech

Synopsis

Billions of animals are slaughtered in the UK each year for the food industry, effective monitoring and updating of procedures and continually improving scientific and ethical knowledge should be required by law to ensure the best possible welfare of animals prior to and at the time of slaughter.

 

Consultation

Shimon Cohen (Director Schehita UK), Yunus Dudhwala (Chairman, Halal Monitoring Committee), Compassion in World Farming, Greens for Animal Protection, Food and Agriculture Policy Working Group.

 

Delete AR404 and replace with

AR405 The Green Party will phase out all forms of factory farming and support a transition to small-scale, free-range units, mixed rotational farming and extensive grazing (seeFA660-661). We support the highest levels of animal welfare in farming and shall ensure that the ‘Five Freedoms’ listed in the Animal Welfare Act are applied to all farm animals. In particular we shall decrease maximum stocking densities and ensure appropriate environments are provided for all farm animals in order to permit expression of natural behaviour. We shall prohibit all caged rearing of poultry, including enriched cages. We shall prohibit all painful mutilations such as beak trimming of poultry and tail docking of pigs. We shall ensure that when slaughter must take place it is done so as to cause least suffering  to the animal, with due regard to species and individual animal factors and is monitored without prejudice towards minority religious and cultural groups

Greens for Animal Protection

GAP was formed out of the successful animal policy group and had their first AGM at Kidderminster football club.  I was there.
So was Keith Taylor, the Green Party's animal spokesperson nationally.
He said he has been successfully campaigning against the ivory trade.  Nigel Farage was one of the few MPs to vote for this aweful trade in elephant deaths to continue, when it went to European Parliament's plenary.
Keith pointed out that nature laws must be protected with Brexit and that the time is now and the next couple of years, to come together.
We then had breakout sessions.  I discovered it's not just the small animal "rights" chapter we were looking at but how the policies interlink with other sectors such as education and food.  The food at conference is aweful and should be improved, radically, more.
At the AGM I was elected onto committee as a regional officer for London.