Today, I’m delighted to announce the government’s world-leading Animal Welfare Strategy – a bold five-year plan to deliver the biggest boost to animal welfare in a generation, with reforms to protect animals at home, on farms, and in the wild.
Many of the reforms being implemented are long overdue. After years of broken promises on animal welfare under the last government, animals have been left to endure needless suffering through outdated laws which continue to permit poor welfare practices. The Conservative government’s animal welfare failings defied public expectations: polling shows that 72% of UK voters want stricter animal welfare laws, and MPs repeatedly report that it is one of the top issues reaching their mailboxes. And yet, we now have Reform promising to cut thousands of laws if elected – putting key pieces of animal welfare legislation at risk.
We all know that Labour has always been the only party that can be trusted on animal welfare. Under the last Labour government, we banned fox hunting, passed the landmark Animal Welfare Act 2006, and pushed for an EU-wide ban on battery cages. Since entering government again in July of last year, we’ve been determined to build on this track record. Just last month, we published a groundbreaking strategy to phase out the use of animals in science, in line with our manifesto commitment to partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing.
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The Animal Welfare Strategy announced today continues our party’s strong legacy on animal welfare and delivers on more manifesto promises by implementing lasting improvements that will have the greatest possible impact on animal welfare.
First, the strategy will address loopholes in our current legislation which puts companion animals at risk of mistreatment and abuse. We will crack down on persistent problems with the breeding and sourcing of low welfare puppies by launching a consultation to reform dog breeding, delivering on our manifesto promise to end puppy farming. This follows the government supporting the Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Act, delivering our manifesto commitment to crack down on puppy smuggling. We will also launch a consultation on licensing domestic rescue and rehoming organisations to ensure high welfare standards are applied in all relevant establishments, and we will implement the measures contained in the Renters’ Rights Act to make it easier for tenants to keep pets in rented accommodation. Most of us consider our pets to be part of the family, and these reforms will ensure that they receive the care and protection they deserve.
Second, the strategy will strengthen farmed animal welfare standards and support farmers. After years of inaction by the previous administration, Britain risks falling behind other European nations with respect to key farmed animal welfare standards. This is unacceptable. That’s why the Animal Welfare Strategy commits to launching consultations on numerous reforms to deliver the largest possible improvements to farmed animal welfare, in collaboration with farmers – many of whom have already voluntarily adopted higher standards. Our goal is to end the use of cages for hens and crates for pigs – confinement systems which significantly restrict the ability of these animals to express their physical and behavioural needs. We will (subject to consultation) ban the use of carbon dioxide to stun pigs – a killing method that has long been established to be aversive to them. And we will consult on implementing standards for the humane killing of fish – animals which are recognised as sentient in law but who lack detailed welfare at slaughter rules. Together, these comprehensive reforms will prevent unnecessary suffering, improve the lives of millions of farmed animals, and ensure that standards on British farms are among the highest in the world.
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Third, the strategy will increase the protection of wildlife and kept wild animals. All animals deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, including those in the wild, but some legislation is outdated and doesn’t do enough to protect wild animals. That’s why the Animal Welfare Strategy commits to delivering our manifesto commitments to ban trail hunting and ending the use of snare traps. We will also review and strengthen penalties for cruelty against wildlife so that they are consistent with higher levels of sentencing available for animal welfare offences against pets and farmed animals. Together, these reforms will create the strongest possible legal safeguards for wild animal welfare and deter any unacceptable cruelty towards them.
Finally, it isn’t good enough to just raise standards domestically. We also need to encourage other countries to follow our leadership and raise their own animal welfare standards. That’s why the Animal Welfare Strategy commits to promoting the importance of high animal welfare standards and best practice as part of our bilateral and international relations, including through international fora. We will also establish a Working Group on fur to explore concerns about the global fur trade and the different ways in which they could be addressed.Share your thoughts. Contribute on this story or tell your own by writing to our Editor. The best letters every week will be published on the site. Find out how to get your letter published.
For me personally, the reforms being delivered in the Animal Welfare Strategy feel seismic. I have been active on animal welfare issues for more than 30 years, and I truly believe that we have a moral obligation to protect defenceless animals in the same way we must protect vulnerable people. I also know that, as a nation of animal lovers, the public wholeheartedly agree with me. As a government and party, we can be proud that the policies announced today will honour and effectuate this duty – ensuring that, thanks to us, animals are protected for generations to come.
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