I have been approached by a number of constituents regarding the wide topic of animal welfare. I share this single statement with my thoughts and with details of legislation brought forward by the Conservative Government.
We have achieved so much over the last few years because like yourself, I am committed to, and have supported in my previous role as an MP, animal welfare legislation passionately.
Since 2010, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have had a strong track record in reforms. This includes:
- A ban on the use of conventional battery cages for laying hens.
- Mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses across England.
- A ban on the use of wild animals in circuses.
- The strongest ivory ban in the world, which I played a key role in taking through Parliament at the then DEFRA Parliamentary Whip.
- Mandatory microchipping of dogs.
- New regulations for minimum standards for meat chickens.
- The modernisation of the licensing system for dog breeding and pet sales.
- Banned third party puppy and kitten sales through Lucy’s Law.
- Introduced protections for service animals through Finn’s Law and offences for horse fly-grazing and abandonment.
- Banned glue traps.
- Delivered on the Pet Abduction Act.
- Gave the police additional powers to tackle hare coursing.
Building on these steps, in May 2021, the Government published an ambitious Action Plan for Animal Welfare. The plan included circa 40 different actions and I am pleased that steady progress has been made on the vast majority. This action plan covers farmed animals, wild animals, pets and sporting animals, and it includes legislative and non-legislative reforms relating to activities in this country and abroad. You can read more here: Action Plan for Animal Welfare - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Legislation requiring the microchipping of cats has also now been passed, which required cat owners to microchip their cat by 10 June 2024, thereby making it easier for lost or stray pet cats to be returned home safely. Further, the Ivory Act has been extended to include ivory from hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, killer whale (orca), as well as sperm whale. In addition, the Government supported the Animals (Low-Welfare Activities Abroad) Act in the previous parliamentary session, which will ban the advertising and offering for sale of unacceptably low animal welfare activities abroad.
Our landmark Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act came into law very recently, capitalising on our post-Brexit freedoms and bolstering the UK’s position as a world leader in animal welfare standards. The legislation delivers on a key manifesto commitment to ban the export of live animals including cattle, sheep, and pigs for slaughter and fattening from Great Britain. This will stop animals enduring stress, exhaustion and injury on long and unnecessary export journeys–and will ensure that animals are slaughtered domestically in high welfare UK slaughterhouses, reinforcing our position as a nation of animal lovers and a world leader on animal welfare, boosting the value of British meat and helping to grow the economy.
The Act is just one part of a wider Government effort to enhance our existing world-leading standards. For farm animals, we have introduced new statutory welfare codes for pigs, laying hens and meat chickens, banned the use of conventional battery cages for laying hens and made CCTV mandatory in slaughterhouses.
As well as legislating, we launched the pioneering animal health and welfare pathway, which sets the way forward for improving farm animal welfare for years to come, building on the work that we have already done to improve conditions for sheep, cattle and chickens. With the pathway, we worked in partnership with industry to transform farm animal welfare, through annual health and welfare reviews with a vet of choice, supported by financial grants.
The UK was the first country in the world to introduce animal cruelty offences and we are the highest ranked G7 nation according to the World Animal Protection’s Index. The Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 raises the maximum sentence for animal cruelty from six months to five years. In addition, the Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 formally recognises animals as sentient beings in domestic and establishes the Animal Sentience Committee, consisting of experts within the field, to ensure that animal sentience is considered when developing policy across Government.
I recognise there is more to be done and I am proud of what the Government has achieved. Please be assured, both the party and I share the high regard for animal welfare that is so much part of our country and its people. We have worked hard to raise animal welfare standards for farm animals, companion animals and wild animals, and I remain completely committed to doing so.
