Episode #33: The Hidden Crisis of High-Yield Animal Breeding and Technology with Peter Stevenson OBE
ListenTalking Animal Law with Peter Stevenson OBE
What happens when animals are treated as “machines” to be manipulated by law and technology? In this episode of Talking Animal Law we welcome back Peter Stevenson OBE, the Chief Policy Advisor at Compassion in World Farming (CiWF) and a driving force behind major EU welfare bans. In this profound and challenging discussion, Peter dissects the hidden crisis of modern animal agriculture: the relentless pursuit of hyper-productivity through genetic selection and its alarming successor, precision breeding.
Peter reveals how legal gaps, like the lack of a species-specific directive for dairy cows, have allowed suffering to escalate, and he outlines the legislative battle to enforce basic duties, such as the right of animals to “exhibit normal behaviour patterns.” This is a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of animal law, policy enforcement, and the ethical conflict between technological innovation and sentience.