RCVS: Improving Animal Welfare

The RCVS is important are they aim to improve animal health and welfare. They produce educational resources to aid students and people learning to be veterinary nurses or interested in becoming one, and they claim that they aim to uphold ‘ethical and clinical standards of veterinary surgeons and nurses’, (RCVS). Ethics is important as it ensures that procedures are being carried out morally and with the animals as a priority. This will also make customers more comfortable as well as the animals. The RCVS has a council made of 42 members, 24 are elected veterinary surgeons and the rest is made up of students from Universities. Only people on the RCVS register can be elected, this means people with the correct background knowledge are in charge,
It gives information on how data can and cannot be used, that it is accurate and used fairly. GOV states ‘There is stronger legal protection for more sensitive information, such as ethnic background, political opinions, religious beliefs, health, sexual health and criminal records’. The act gives you the right to find out what information the government and organizations have about you. They are legally required to give you this information. There are certain situations where information can be withheld, this includes information being used within a crime, within the armed forces or national security, to do with assessing or collecting tax. The organisation also does not have to state why they are withholding this information. It can cost a small fee to get the information from the organisations. There are 8 data protection principles, these are “personal data should be fairly and lawfully processed, processed for limited purposes; adequate, relevant and not excessive; accurate; not kept for longer than is necessary; processed in line with an individual’s rights; secure and not transferred to other countries without protection”,
The legislation enforces tougher penalties to people who do not follow, causing unnecessary suffering to an animal can lead to 51 weeks imprisonment, a £20,000 fine or possibly both. It aims to strengthen offences against animal fighting and animal welfare offences. It increased the age that a child is allowed to buy an animal, this increased from 12 to 16. This is important because at 12 years old children may not be responsible enough to look after animals, especially more advanced animals. Children under the age of 16 without an adult cannot win prizes of an animal such as a goldfish due to the Animal Welfare Act. Mutilation is also