European Pet Night 2009: "We care" about companion
animals
British MEP Neil Parish was co-host when the European
Parliament opened its doors to three assistance dogs on the occasion of the
2009 European Pet Night, an event highlighting the benefits of companion
animals to European Society. Wendy Morrell and her assistance dog Caesar
(representing
Dogs for the Disabled) was star of the show.
The coalition of partner organisations showing “They
care” included NOAH's European federation IFAH-Europe, assistance dogs
Europe (ADEu)the Eurogroup for Animals, the Belgian Police canine department
and cavalry and the European Commission’s DG SANCO. MEPs Neil Parish (UK)
and Paulo Casaca (Portugal), respectively President and Vice-President of
the Parliamentary Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals,
were the hosts of this unique reception. With 62 million households owning a
pet in the European Union, both MEPs stressed the importance of this issue
for European Society.
MEP Neil Parish (UK) welcomed the involvement of the
European Commission Directorate General SANCO (Health and Consumer
Protection) through their “Animals + Humans = One Health” campaign on
biosecurity, and he recalled the work of the Parliamentary Intergroup on the
transport of puppies, vulnerable to stress and rabies: “The EU should fight
to reduce the exposure of animals to diseases, as there is no animal welfare
without an optimal level of animal health”, he said.
MEP Paulo Casaca (Portugal) stressed the success of the
European passport for the intra-Community movements of dogs and cats and
expressed his deep commitment to the issue of companion animals: "I think
it’s time to understand that half of the veterinarians actually working on
pets is an enormous indicator of the economic importance of the sector.
Something that matters so much to all European Citizens cannot be ignored
and we have to put it high on our agenda”, he commented.
The presentations reminded European decision-makers of
the importance of animal welfare and animal health for society at large. All
organisations showed a different facet to the benefits of pets to society,
around a vivid testimony by Wendy Morrell and Caesar, her assistance dog:
"Caesar's effect on my life has been enormous," she said. "Now I get
involved with things I would have been too scared to previously. He is
priceless because of what he does and the independence he gives me has
improved my self-esteem. He's my hero."
In addressing the audience,
IFAH-Europe Chairman
Jochen Wieda stated “We are at the early phase in the review of our major
Veterinary legislation over the next couple of years. Our Vision is a true
single market for animal health products. This will ensure maximum
availability of products for all species, including companion animals. It
will be a win:win situation and is particularly important where we have rare
diseases and where we need to ensure fast access to new products across the
EU”.
European Pet Night will be back in early 2010 to heighten
public awareness on the complex issues surrounding the welfare of companion
animals and their role in society and allow politicians to have a genuine
exchange of views with stakeholders from the sector.
17 February 2009
Notes for Editors
The following associations co-organised European Pet Night 2009:
ADEu - Assistance Dogs Europe,
www.assistancedogseurope.org
Dyadis – www.dyadis.org
Ethologia – www.ethologia.be
European Commission DG SANCO “One health”campaign:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/dyna/consumervoice/create_cv.cfm?cv_id=490
Eurogroup for Animals –
www.eurogroupforanimals.org
FEDIAF – www.fediaf.org
FVE - Federation of Veterinarians of Europe,
www.fve.org
IFAH-Europe - International Federation of the animal health industry-Europe,
www.ifaheurope.org
IAHAIO - International Association of Human-Animal Interaction
Organisations, www.iahaio.org
IFAH-Europe (International Federation for Animal Health-Europe) is the
organisation representing manufacturers of veterinary medicines, vaccines
and other animal health products in Europe and comprises 15 Member Companies
and 19 National Associations throughout Europe, including NOAH. For further
information on IFAH-Europe, please visit http://www.ifaheurope.org
For further press information please contact Laurence Leclercq, External
Communications Officer IFAH-Europe Rue Defacqz, 1 B-1000 Brussels Tel.: +32
(0)2 543 7567 Fax : +32 (0)2 537 0049 E-mail l.leclercq@ifahsec.org
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