ABSTRACT
The GATT – the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade – dates back to 1947. Only recently, however, has it begun to strike terror into the hearts of those concerned with animal welfare. In 1994, the Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization’ was adopted. Crucially, a new approach to settling disputes was agreed. Under GATT 1947, countries could, in effect, largely ignore the report of a dispute panel. Under the 1994 WTO Agreement all that has changed. Now panel reports are binding on the parties unless every member country, including the winning party, decides not to adopt the report. GATT is now a major obstacle to animal welfare reforms because of its policy that an imported product cannot be discriminated against because a country believes that the way in which it was produced is cruel. Clearly, the GATT prevents countries prohibiting the import of products coming from animals reared in cruel systems.
