L'immobilisation par électrocution interdite en Irlande à partir du 1er septembre 2007
The photo above shows an animal frothing at the mouth during electro-immobilisation. (Photo copyright Animals Liberation NSW Australia.)
CIWF-Ireland congratulates Irish Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, on her decision to ban electro-immobilisation, which we believe is an inhumane method of restraining animals.
Introduction
Electro-immobilisation is a procedure whereby an electrical current is run through an animal, using special equipment, to "freeze" the animal into a stationary position so that, for example, dehorning can be carried out. Throughout the electro-immobilisation procedure the animal is fully consious and can feel everything. However, the animal cannot move or cry out. For more detailed information, included suggestions for further reading, go to our Irish Farmfacts page on electro-immobilisation.
Electro-immobilisation is used by veterinarians to make animals that are hard to handle stay still while procedures such as dehorning are carried out. Even though a local anaesthetic must, by law, be used for some procedures, it is the electro-immobilisation process itself that animals find distressing. Non-veterinarians are also permitted to use electro-immobilisation.
At present, electro-immobilisation can legally be used in the Republic of Ireland for the restraint of animals. It is estimated that there are about 600 electro-immobilising machines in use in the Republic of Ireland, in the hands of both veterinarians and non-veterinarians.
Decision to ban electro-immobilisation
In April 2006, Agriculture Minister Coughlan announced that electro-immobilisation of live farm animals would become illegal from 1st June 2007. In the Department of Agriculture's Press Release, the Minister says that she has accepted the recommendation of her Scientific Advisory Committee on Animal Health and Welfare to prohibit the use of electro-immobilisation on live farm animals.
The ban was then deferred until 1st September 2007. This is to allow time for veterinarians and farmers to prepare for the ban, and also to allow time to raise awareness amongst farmers and others about the forthcoming change in the law.
The legislation that puts the ban on electro-immobilisation in place is: Statutory Instrument S.I. No. 197 of 2007 "Protection Of Animals Kept For Farming Purposes (Electro-immobilisation) Regulations 2007". The Explanatory Note in Statutory Instrument No. 197 says: "These Regulations ban the use of electro-immobilisation upon animals."
CIWF-Ireland congratulates the Minister on her decision to ban electro-immobilisation. We view this ban on the inhumane practice of using electricity to restrain farm animals as a significant step forward for farm animal welfare. We note that electro-immobilisation is already illegal in Northern Ireland and throughout the UK.
Scientific Advisory Committee report
The Scientific Advisory Committee on Animal Health and Welfare produced its report, entitled The Use Of Electro-immobilisation On Live Farm Animals In Ireland, in March 2005.
In this report, the Scientific Advisory Committee looked at scientific literature relating to electro-immobilisation (EI) and concluded:
"On balance, the use of EI is very difficult to justify. It is quite a cruel form of restraint, causing distress and aversive reactions, and because it is meant for single-pass use may increase the likelihood of minor surgical procedures being carried out cruelly, i.e. without analgaesia, as animals will only be caught once."
The Scientific Advisory Committee recommended:
"Legislation to bar the use of EI in restraint of animals other than in slaughter plants post mortem."
The Committee pointed out that:
"Specific legislation could opt for an all-out ban, or could decide to leave its use in the hands of trained operators or veterinary professionals, so that its use could be permitted in certain circumstances. It is the opinion of the authors that this would leave little change in the status quo.
Since many sedative, anaesthetic and analgaesic options are in the gift of the veterinary profession there would apear to be no actual grounds for the continuing use of EI in Ireland."
CIWF-Ireland's campaign
CIWF-Ireland has been campaigning for electro-immobilisation to be banned since 2004. CIWF-Ireland called on the Irish Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, (and the previous Minister, Joe Walsh) to totally ban the use of electro-immobilisation to restrain live consious animals in the Republic of Ireland, whether by veterinarians or laypeople, as a matter of great urgency. We argued that electro-immobilisation is a very inhumane method of restraint.
Advisory bodies
Concerns about electro-immobilisation were brought before the Minister's Farm Animal Welfare Advisory Council (FAWAC) and CIWF produced a discussion paper (see FAWAC Minutes, e.g. (under Working Group on Medicines) 8th FAWAC meeting and 9th FAWAC meeting). The issue was then referred to the the Minister's Scientific Advisory Committee on Animal Health and Welfare, which produced a report entitled "Electro-immobilisation On Live Farm Animals In Ireland". This report recommended a ban on electro-immobilisation.
Why electro-immobilisation should be banned
The science shows that animals find electro-immobilisation aversive, physically stressful, psychologically stressful, noxious and unpleasant. See our Irish Farmfacts page on electro-immobilisiation for a summary of the science and references.
CIWF is of the view that electro-immobilisation subjects animals to a totally unacceptable degree of stress. There is evidence that a small number of animals die as a result of electro-immobilisation, which can cause their breathing muscles to become paralised.
There is also a serious risk of misuse. Because electro-immobilisation renders the animal unable to move, there is a risk that animals could be subjected to painful procedures without use of local anasthetic.
This photograph shows an animal's eye rolling back as electro-immobilisation is applied. (Photo copyright Animals Liberation NSW Australia.)
With regard to de-horning of cattle, there is no need for electro-immobilisation to be used. Instead, these animals could be disbudded when they are young calves, being easy to handle at this age.
Electro-immobilisation is illegal in the UK.
Read more about electro-immobilisation on our Irish Farmfacts page.
You can congratulate Minister Coughlan on her decision to ban electro-immobilisation by writing to: Minister Mary Coughlan - Office of the Minister for Agriculture & Food
Agriculture House - Kildare Street - Dublin 2
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