The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
New Bill to protect welfare of animals
Plans to end the export of live animals for fattening and slaughter, rules to tackle puppy smuggling and making keeping primates as pets illegal are part of a new push to protect animals, ministers said.
The UK Government’s action plan for animal welfare includes the introduction of a new law to recognise animals are sentient beings – which have feelings such as pleasure, pain and fear.
The plan is a mixture of new measures, confirmation of manifesto commitments and moves that have been consulted on and will now be introduced, or ones that have been previously attempted.
Other measures for farm animals include the introduction of new measures to improve welfare during transport, examining the use of cages for poultry and farrowing crates for pigs, and improving animal welfare at slaughter.
The action plan also includes plans to stop adverts in the UK for things such as elephant rides abroad and exploring a ban on foie gras.
Announcing the plan at a trip to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London, environment secretary George Eustice said: “We are a nation of animal lovers and were the first country in the world to pass animal welfare laws.”
NFU England and Wales president, Minette Batters, called on the government to apply the same welfare requirements on foreign producers exporting food and drink to the UK.
She said: “I have serious concerns about the government’s intention to raise the bar at home, without any certainty that the same standards will be applied to imports. There are still many practices allowed in countries we are currently negotiating with that are banned here, on welfare grounds.
“For example, it is not uncommon to see journey times for live animals in Australia exceed 24 hours without access to feed or water. In comparison, the government has recently consulted on reducing domestic journey times in the UK to eight hours.”
She added: “If the government is to raise the welfare bar here, it must do so for food imports. It would simply be hypocritical to do otherwise. We cannot have a situation where British farmers adhere to some of the highest standards in the world, only to be undercut by imports that barely meet the lowest rung on the ladder.”
The Animal Sentience Bill will be introduced to parliament today and further legislation will follow.