Home What's New Speeches & Articles Newsletter - Jul 2008 Biography Diary Contact Information Photo Album Parliamentary Highlights Publications Links MEPs' Transparency   Conservative Party Latest News from Conservatives.com Conservative Party Website
		EU Parliament debates "humane trapping standards" Thursday 19th May 2005 The European parliament is currently debating a Commission proposal for "Humane Trapping Standards", as the parliament's Hunting Intergroup (a single-issue cross-party group) met last week in Strasbourg to debate the issue. The Commission proposal seeks to implement a new international agreement between major countries involved in trapping and the fur trade, namely the USA, Canada, Russia and the EU. An earlier agreement, which was the result of a great deal of negotiation with important contributions from the International Fur Trade Federation and other interested parties, sought to strike a balance between animal welfare and the needs of trappers in the fur trade, trapping for pest control, and by gamekeepers for game protection. The Commission is concerned that any attempt by the parliament to make substantial revisions to this agreement could re-open the issue with the non-EU countries, creating major problems and delays. The parliament's "rapporteur", Austrian socialist MEP Karin Scheele's presentation calling for radical changes, was heavily influenced by animal rights lobby. While her proposals could raise welfare criteria, they could also easily result in the Directive becoming inoperable and being ignored in practice. The "shadow rapporteur", British Conservative MEP Roger Helmer, argued for the resolution broadly as proposed by the Commission, and used examples from Canada to rebut suggestions that the international agreement might fail to raise welfare standards. Helmer, a passionate opponent of the UK government's hunting ban, is a regular member of the hunting intergroup, and has worked with the Countryside Alliance and European hunting organisation FACE, on a range of countryside issues. Commenting on the debate, he said: "As a euro-sceptic, I am a bit surprised to find myself supporting the Commission on this one. But it is clearly in the best interests of animal welfare, of the fur trade and of country people to accept the international deal, and to ensure that the parliament does not impose an impractical and damaging 'animal rights' agenda".