Animal health and welfare: A case study of science, law and policy in a regulatory environment

This paper considers, through a multidisciplinary study, the management and regulation of animal health and welfare when taking account of the biological and epidemiological characteristics that determine control. The paper considers how science informs the analysis that contributes to the management and governance of animal diseases. This is a timely study as DEFRA, the central government department responsible, is engaged in an active consultation on the question of cost sharing and regulation of animal diseases. DEFRA has introduced a draft Animal Health Bill, which includes the creation of an Animal Health Organisation, an independent regulatory agency for animal health and welfare. Such an independent agency will help address the importance of scientific advice and its inclusion in the decisionmaking by policy makers. The paper also addresses the role of science and scientists in the collaboration with lawyers, economists and political scientists in the setting of criteria for policy makers. The research used in writing the paper is from a project that embraces different disciplines and engages with how science, law and policy may be evaluated in the case study of animal diseases. The conclusions draw together the strands of analysis across the various disciplines and are intended to set the agenda for future research in this area. This may also inform the approach eventually adopted by the Government in the current discussion of the creation of the Animal Health Organisation.