The codes of practice are delayed, the RSPCA are becoming active on their versions now.

I have seen several drafts and l find them alarming to say the least, whilst extremely long, and predominately comparable to a care guide, the most alarming feature is this one blockline:

"Breach of a provision of this code is not an offence in itself but, if proceedings are brought against you for a welfare offence under the Act, the court can take into account the extent to which you have complied with the code in deciding whether you have committed an offence or have met the required standard of care".

I don't think keepers fully understand the implications behind this block of text.

Here are some of the legalities that will be used in the codes of practice:

Summary of key legal responsibilities

• You must take reasonable steps in accordance with good practice to ensure that the welfare needs of an animal for which you are responsible are met.

• It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act (2006) to cause a protected animal to suffer unnecessarily or to allow another person to cause an animal for which you are responsible to suffer unnecessarily.

• If you are a parent or guardian of a child less than 16 years old, you are responsible for any animal that the young person is in charge of or owns.

Section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 provides:


Responsibility for animals

(1) In this Act, references to a person responsible for an animal are to a person responsible for an animal whether on a permanent or temporary basis.


(2) In this Act, references to being responsible for an animal include being in charge of it.


(3) For the purposes of this Act, a person who owns an animal shall always be regarded as being a person who is responsible for it.


(4) For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be treated as responsible for any animal for which a person under the age of 16 years of whom he has actual care and control is responsible.

Section 4 of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 provides:

Unnecessary suffering
(1) A person commits an offence if –

1. an act of his, or a failure of his to act, causes an animal to suffer,

2. he knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the act, or failure to act, would have that effect or be likely to do so,
   
3. the animal is a protected animal, and
   
4. the suffering is unnecessary.

(2) A person commits an offence if-
(a) he is responsible for an animal,
(b) an act, or failure to act, of another person causes the animal to suffer,
(c) he permitted that to happen or failed to take such steps (whether by way of supervising the other person or otherwise) as were reasonable in all the circumstances to prevent that happening, and
(d) the suffering is unnecessary.

(3) The considerations to which it is relevant to have regard when determining for the purposes of this section whether suffering is unnecessary include –

and it goes on, and on...

This is very disturbing:

Offences and Penalties
A person who is convicted of an offence under section 4 of the Act may be imprisoned for a maximum period of 51 weeks* and/or fined up to £20,000. If they are convicted of an offence under section 9 (failing to ensure the animal’s welfare) they can be imprisoned for the same maximum period and fined up to level 5 on the standard scale – the maximum is currently £5000.

Proceedings may be brought up to 3 years after the offence was committed but must be brought within 6 months after sufficient evidence on which to base the prosecution becomes available to the prosecuting authority. Prosecutions under the Act are brought by the local authority in the Magistrates Court.

*The maximum period of imprisonment will be 6 months until section 281(5) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 comes into force (when it will be 51 weeks).


By the way, the above in red, is now active!

This line:

"if it weren't the case that in Section 9 of the AWA 2006 failure to comply with the code might lead to an offence having been committed"

Is more disturbing, it basically means that whilst a keeper does not have to adhere to the actual code of practice, their own code must in reality be better than the approved code. Failure to prove that the code they adhere to is better will result in them quite possibly being prosecuted and losing all of their animals anyway.

Draft codes of practice for cats, dogs and rabbits have been submitted for reviews already and they number between 19 - 40 pages in length! Now l think personally that COP's should not exceed any more than five pages max, for no keeper is going to want to wade thru vast quantities of pages on keeping.

Some of these codes will be subjected to public consultations and if the keepers speaks up, there is a very good chance that they may win some reward - but if you do not appeal - then these absurdities will be passed.

So PKL is looking at codes of practice quite heavily, and we will campaign under them as PKL, PKA will be looking to gain support from keepers to defend themselves in the Whats' Your Defence? Campaign.

In the next few days l will be looking to establish Specialist Working Groups to discuss codes of practice for reptiles.

Thanks

Rory Matier

Pro Keepers' Lobby

Home to Pro Keepers' Alliance

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I only posted this thread this evening, and whilst at the time of my writing, l have had 33 viewings to its content, l am somewhat amazed at the lack of responses.

I have just finished reviewing a cop, of which sadly l am not allowed to disclose the full content matter, and whilst in the main l know it to be backed by the RSPCA, 85% l actually find acceptable, it is however the last 15% which l do not.

The 15% is full of wild and wacky ideas, and whilst it is to do with an animal not focussed heavily in this forum, it does lend an estimate to where those whom are writing these codes are looking.

I feel it will not be long before many animals have more of a political vote than many humans do, and judging by the lack of response from the human keeper, l think at times that the animals voice does not need to be actually heard to be listened to.

One of the problems l have with these draftees is the actual length. The one l have just read is 23 pages long. It makes reference to an animal the size of a cat, that it should and would be best housed in a pair, and would have the greatest of comfort from a shed, heated, with a cat flap of its colour choice attached, with straw bales to boot to aid it in its bone and muscle development - the bales used for ledges.

I am not sure if a hi fi, flat screen colour television are imperative, but they may as well be for everything else mentioned here alone. If this one Code of Practice was actually passed l would say that within the year this very species, would not be kept ever again, apart from possibly nutters!! And rich ones at that!!

I wish l could reveal more, however l simply not allowed to, for l think if the keeper was to see a draft cop, l feel that there may be some immediate response, and one would hope more interest.

R

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Am happy to help in any way I can on this Rory be it typing up stuff or researching etc.

I am a bit shocked that more people haven't responded so far as many people have strong views on the CoP discussions usually

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thats pretty worrying,why are they such long documents? are they making sure of dotting the "i"s and crossing the t's or is it just to make life harder?
regards gaz
as for the lack of response..........nobody will give a stuff until the problem bites them in the nuts

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captive bred boas and tree boas a speciality

http://www.gazboas.co.uk

Agent V is a funky lumberjackwith a funky lumberjacks outfit(in black)

i agree with Gaz no 1 cares until it happens in this country

Well I bloody well do!!!

I know many people don't realise the seriousness of things until it is too late to do anything about it but I for one will continue to fight tooth and nail wherever I can to help this hobby.

I just wish other people would do the same

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I'm willing to help, but unless I know the codes of practice I can't really contribute, it's a bit of a waiting game.

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Ill help willingly just let me know what needs to be done
to be honest as for the lack of responce i think its because some of the threads concerning things like this dont really make sence to quite a few people. I know sometimes i have to read it twice and late at night its confusing

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Its easier to count the people that arnt idiots in the world. 100+ assorted reptiles and a stafford
KNZ is our Daughter any problems with her let me know


The Leopard Gecko Code

jesus that took me ages read.its quite worrying to what lengths the rspca are going to go to when half of them know hardly anything about keeping reptiles in the first place.

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The problem we have in the main, is that the c.o.p's currently being reviewed are for species that this forum does not deal with as a specific topic.

Reptiles, mammals, societies and retailers have not even commenced.

I am told that the primate cop is to be released next year, and if l was to take the last review l have just read - Rabbits - yes that was 23 pages long - l shudder what they will do with Primates, a politically sensitive species. help me, but l fear and feel it may resemble the Brittanica Encyclopedia.

Reptiles, again politically sensitive - now l really worry about this - for with primates, one could write a cop for small, medium, large and possible larger species.

Just taking this into account, you would be looking at marmosets, tamarins, squirrels, capuchins, spiders then come the lemurs. The latter of which are all held in private collections as the main kept species.

How big they may or may not make this, Welsh Assembly is looking to either seriously restrict or ban primates, it certainly would make the administrations easier if no cop had to be written for this. Equally as much Welsh Assembly wanted to restrict mammal sales from retailers in Wales.

Would this happen? Could it happen?

Not just yet l feel, no. But it could be in the agenda in the future sometime. Scaremongering? No, but it is not on the agenda yet. Yet however, only being the operative word.

But briefly back to prmates, let us say in the main perhaps right across the board in private collections from marmosets to lemurs we might be looking at 20 seperate species. Could codes of conduct be written that would cover the four main sizes, or would they have to more specific than this? Would a cop have to be written for just marmosets? Perhaps this would do.

Would it need to be 90 pages as an example? No, l think all primate species could be managed within the maximum of a 15 page document. And that includes one page on legislation, which is the likes of the first post to this thread, as well as one page dedicated to quality websites and recommended books. So 13 pages, dealing with species, habitats/enclosures/diets/substrates/enrichment etc

I feel in the main that these cop's are written by those who are feeling we should not forget that our animals have rights as well. Fine, but for the sake of a code of practice, this is unneccesary - cop's need to be direct and factual, that is it. We do not need to emphasize the political aspectation to it all.

They need to be brief, concise and accurate only. So they can be easily distributed. But above all, l genuinely feel that they must be written by those that are going to be affected by them.

Now, let us look at reptiles shall we................?

Before l proceed, do you see the instant problems we have?

One just has to read the above that l have written to grasp our major problems.

How many codes of practice are going to be needed here?

I have two threads sitting in General Herp:

Ideal set up for?
Top Ten Sellers?

Both of these are relative to this thread here.

We must identify the best way to write these codes that is SUITABLE to all keepers.

Already l see major problems developing, don't you?

And this is just reptiles, then l also have to think on the mammal species held in the UK alone to really get very concerned.

We need help, we can not do this alone, l need people to volunteer their time, there is no payment for this except for the quite possibly corny line - this will go to aid the reptile community in the long run and ensure that our futures together are maintained as keepers.

So you see the plight?

I can not allow these codes of practice to go unwritten by those who are not actively involved in the keeping of all said and discussed species.

Will you help us?

Rory Matier
PKA/PKL

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