She has seen dogs that have never been out of their kennel, wading in manure. Cats with inflamed wounds and painful tooth damage. Now the head of the Animal Welfare Committee in Vestfold, Nina Skjelbred, is sounding the alarm. Because even though the Norwegian Food Safety Authority receives at least as many reports of concern as before, they carry out far fewer inspections. Skjelbred thinks it is serious. She knows how bad the situation can be with some pet owners. – I have been in homes where the hygiene has been so poor that cat corpses were glued to the wall, she says. Believes animals lose The Animal Welfare Committees have been appointed by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, and consist of ordinary people with an interest in and knowledge of animal husbandry. Their main task is to help the Norwegian Food Safety Authority assess animal welfare cases. The members of the tribunal shall use their own competence and experience from animal husbandry and in this way supplement the Norwegian Food Safety Authority’s professional knowledge. Today, however, the boards are used minimally, at the same time as the number of inspections of animal husbandry carried out by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority is demonstrably far fewer than before. – It is the animals that lose, says Skjelbred. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority, for its part, believes that they have done a lot to improve the quality of the follow-up of animal welfare in Norway, and they have more plans to do. – Not used The feeling of being able to help animals, and often owners, out of difficult situations has been a motivation to stay in the position Skjelbred got a few years ago. Previously, she and the others in the tribunal were allowed to participate in frequent inspections. Nina Skjelbred. Photo: Nils Fridtjof Skumsvoll / news Two people from the boards could drive around and knock on doors, while the Norwegian Food Safety Authority’s inspectors concentrated on the very worst cases. This is no longer the case. In 2020, the Danish Food Safety Authority changed its instructions to the boards. It now reads as follows: «The Animal Welfare Board does not have the authority to carry out independent inspections. The Animal Welfare Board does not have the authority to make individual decisions. ” If the tribunal is to be inspected today, it must take place together with representatives of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. This has led to the tribunal being little used. In the last two years, she has been involved in two inspections. In the past, the number was often many times a month. – We are not used, she says. Torunn Knævelsrud, section manager for animal welfare in the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, believes that the tribunal still has an important role, but that their area of responsibility has changed. – They should give a lay judgment. Not be a cheap supervisory resource for the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, she says. Torunn Knævelsrud, section manager for animal welfare in the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. Photo: The Norwegian Food Safety Authority However, she believes that the committee’s members will have more to do in other areas in the future. – We will start a pilot project this autumn, where we will try out how the boards can be used to check out the reports of concern that have already been sorted out by our teams, to see if there is anything to pick up there. Nina Skjelbred believes that the Norwegian Food Safety Authority is dropping more and more inspections of animal owners, even after serious reports of concern. There is little doubt that the number of inspections of livestock has decreased in Norway. In 2016, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority received 9381 reports of concern about animal welfare from the public. 9349 inspections of animal husbandry were carried out where animal welfare was the purpose of the inspection. Either alone or for other purposes. Last year, the picture was quite different. The number of reports of concern was 12,085. Of these, 3128 livestock were examined for the same purpose as in 2016. Torunn Knævelsrud believes that there are several reasons why the number of inspections has decreased in recent years. Including the corona epidemic. At the same time, they have also changed their focus on which inspections are given priority. – A few years ago, we carried out perhaps nine thousand inspections a year, but it is not certain that the effect of these inspections was always so good. It was short and simple inspections, says Knævelsrud to news. From carrying out many inspections, they have now rather given priority to carrying out fewer, but more thorough inspections, the section chief explains. – We have had a wild turn. The focus will be on the most serious animal welfare issues, she tells news. – Are there many animals that suffer as a result of fewer inspections? – It is impossible to know how many animals are suffering. Then we have to seek out all animal husbandry in the country, so it is impossible to answer, says Knævelsrud. Demands action on behalf of animals Skjelbred’s hope is to regain previous practice. She is not alone in thinking so. In Tinn municipality, Christian Lauluten represents the Animal Welfare Board. That role has been played by the nurse and dog breeder for six years. Christian Lauluten, member of the Animal Welfare Committee in Tinn. Photo: Private The last two years he has been on one inspection. He has the same impression as Skjelbred – that something rarely happens with alerts. First and foremost, he is worried about animals not getting help, but he also believes the lack of supervision does something with people’s views of his role. – When they notify me and nothing happens, they think in the end that I just ignore what is notified, he thinks. They both emphasize that the criticism is directed at the management. – I see what those who work in the Norwegian Food Safety Authority struggle with. It has been notified many times, but nothing happens, Skjelbred believes. Can’t take it anymore news has talked to a former employee of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. She wants to remain anonymous for the sake of her new employment. The veterinarian left after more than ten years as an employee. Then she could take no more. It was not the focus on the pig industry and other major events that was the biggest problem. She was really just happy about that. Nor were the times she was scolded by lawyers, farmers and drug addicts. She enjoyed working with colleagues. – That was all I could not do anything about. And unfortunately I am not alone. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority is leaking like a sieve. The professional competence disappears, she tells news. More bureaucracy. More control. Lots of new things to get acquainted with, without time to get used to it, the vet says. – I went from mastery and job satisfaction to despair and checklists. This is also something the Norwegian Food Safety Authority is working to improve, says Knævelsrud, who speaks on a general basis. – We have carried out a large recruitment campaign to recruit new personnel. We received 20 million this winter with fresh funds from the government which is earmarked for animal welfare work, most of which goes to new hires, she says. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority believes they will see the real effect of this this autumn. – We are working to get new people in place. We look forward to getting more resources into our work, she says to news. – Impossible to carry out inspections of all Last year alone, there were more than 12,000 reports of concern. – It goes without saying that it is impossible to carry out inspections of everyone. It is also not appropriate if it is not about serious matters. However, she emphasizes that all reports of concern are carefully considered by regional teams. – Then the most serious are sent on to the departments, which in turn must make their priorities up to the tasks they have. It is very easy to send a report of concern to the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. But what really happens next? Photo: news – Can you follow up on all the serious reports of concern? – We probably think that we have reports of concern that should have been followed up faster than we can at any time. That’s probably right. – Why can you not do it? – It is not always easy to assess a message of concern. There will be a balance between the information we have, the resources we have and the tasks that must be solved. JournalistHei! Thank you for reading this case! Feel free to read some of the other issues I have written. Do you have tips for other issues I should write about? Then I would like to hear from you!
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– Right now there are many animals suffering – news Vestfold and Telemark – Local news, TV and radio
