The road to effective animal welfare policy

Abstract

This is a study on the construction of animal welfare policy within Dutch municipalities. The research is inspired by Utrecht University, and the desire of the municipality of Veenendaal to discover what is going on surrounding animal welfare in the municipality. The municipality of Veenendaal wished to give substance to the statement in the council agreement: ‘Attention to animal welfare’, but was unsure what steps to follow. This research generally follows a dual structure by looking at developments in society that contribute to animal welfare concerns and looking at how these concerns can be translated into policy. As animal welfare is described as the ‘neglected child of policymaking’ by over half of the interviewed respondents, the desire to concretize policy is prevalent. From this research, it can be seen that collective action is socially constructed. Political activism and proximity are found to be related to the degree of concern in Dutch societies. Even though there is a growing concern in society, this does not directly lead to effective policies due to the wickedness of policymaking. This is why stakeholders regarding animal welfare policy are strongly advised to document transparent and defined agreements with executing and consulting parties.