The government is introducing a wide-ranging plan to improve the welfare of some animals.
The animals covered by the proposal includes pets, livestock and creatures in the wild.
Measures to be introduced include banning the export of live animals for slaughter, the keeping of primates as pets, and formally recognising the sentience of animals.
It will become compulsory for cats to be microchipped.
In addition, remote-controlled training collars for dogs will be outlawed.
‘A nation of animal lovers’
Launching the Action Plan for Animal Welfare, the Environment Secretary George Eustice called the UK a “nation of animal lovers” and said it would “go further than ever to build on our excellent track record”.
The array of initiatives also includes banning the import of hunting trophies from endangered species, and formally recognising animals as sentient beings.
The government will look at banning the sale of foie gras – a food made from the livers of force-fed ducks or geese.
The plan includes legislation in a number of bills set to be approved in the coming months. These include the Animal Welfare Bill, the Animal Sentience Bill and the Animals Abroad Bill. These will expand on the protections in the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Legislation to restrict the use of glue traps, designed to capture wild birds, will be supported.
Reacting to the news that owners will have to get their cats microchipped, Jacqui Cuff, head of advocacy and government relations for Cats Protection, said she was “delighted”.
“We had the dog microchipping regulation passed in 2016, so we’ve been waiting a long time. There are around 2.6 million unchipped pet cats in the UK; that’s a lot of cats wandering around with no permanent identification,” she explained.
Cat theft reportedly increased by more than 12% over the last year, and only around 70% of owned cats are chipped at the moment.
Chris Sherwood, chief executive of the RSPCA, said: “These announcements will make a real and lasting difference to animals’ welfare, so we’re pleased the Government is committed to improving animals’ lives in the UK and abroad. We can no longer ignore the inextricable link that exists between the way we treat animals, our own health and that of the planet – but to really achieve a step change, it will take courage from right across government.
“We urge the government to put animal welfare at the heart of policy making and make these announcements just the beginning of an evolving, holistic animal health and welfare strategy.”
With regard to farmed animals, live exports for fattening and slaughter will be banned. This is only possible because the UK has left the EU. The caging of poultry and the practice of restricting the movement of pregnant and suckling pigs will also be examined.
Sows can legally be kept in a “farrowing crate” for up to five weeks. These crates are of a size that prevents the sow from turning around and potentially crushing her new-born piglets. However, preventing sows from engaging in normal behaviour can cause them to become stressed.
There is, however, no legal guarantee that food from animals reared abroad will have been produced to high animal-welfare standards.
Last year, ministers controversially voted against a House of Lords amendment which would have blocked imports that didn’t meet welfare and food safety standards in the UK. It will now depend on post-Brexit trade deals with countries such as the US, where cows are routinely treated with hormones and chickens are washed with chlorine – which is illegal here.
The deputy president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Stuart Roberts, said it was “ridiculous” if high standards weren’t applied to imports as well.
“We have some of highest standards for animal welfare in the world. It’s good that the government have that same ambition,” he said. “But at the moment we are negotiating a trade deal with Australia, where you can have journey times for animals in excess of 24 hours without access to food or water .. We cannot increase standards here, and at the same time not apply the same criteria to imports, it’s just hypocrisy.”
The Animal Sentience Bill will enshrine in law that animals have the capacity to feel hunger and pain, and are aware of what is happening to them. It will apply to vertebrates, but not to cephalopods such as octopus and squid.
Other measures in the plan include banning the advertisement of “unacceptable low-welfare animal practices abroad” such as elephant rides, along with prohibiting the export of “detached shark fins”. The Ivory Act, banning the sale of ivory, will also be implemented.
There will also be new laws to “crack down on illegal hare coursing,” and police will be given more powers to protect farm animals from dangerous or out-of-control dogs.