OIE involvement in aquatic animal welfare: the need for development of guidelines based on welfare for farming, transport and slaughter purposes in aquatic animals.

Abstract

Globally there has been increasing agreement that aquatic animals are entitled to certain welfare considerations and standards. This trend will most likely grow stronger in the years to come. The World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) has realised that animal welfare issues are receiving increased public attention by governments as well as non-governmental and consumer organisations. Animal welfare was identified as a priority in the 2001-2005 OIE Strategic Plan. OIE Member Countries decided that the OIE must provide international leadership on animal welfare. Animal protection includes important scientific, ethical, economic and political dimensions and thus a need to establish guidelines in the field of welfare. The OIE established a permanent Working Group on Animal Welfare (2002) to coordinate and manage animal welfare activities. It was indicated that the welfare of animals used in agriculture and aquaculture should be prioritized and that the development of policies and guiding principles on transportation, humane slaughter and killing for disease control purposes was a primary task. Thus, the OIE established two ad hoc Groups to draft the guiding principles on the humane slaughter of fish for human consumption, killing fish for disease control purposes, and land and sea transport based on the generic OIE guiding principles and policies for animal welfare. Below, the scope and development of these Guidelines, the OIE guiding principles for the welfare of aquatic animals as well as the OIE in house procedures for the approval of a set of guidelines to be incorporated into the OIE Aquatic Animal Health Code will be described in more detail.